Through Time
by MarvelousMrsMoo
Summary: It started with the stones. They were buzzing and vibrating when she found them, luring her in. She touched them, the world went black, and when she woke she was in a place and a time that was not her own. All Maggie wanted was to find her way home again, to go back to the world she knew. But a man named Arthur Morgan changed all of that. T for adult themes. Inspired by Outlander.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Red Dead Redemption!**

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

Kelly's Pub was packed to the brim by the time Maggie Beckett arrived.

She paused just inside the door, letting her eyes sweep the bar searchingly. A group of college-aged kids were hogging the pool tables and were obnoxiously loud as they downed cheap beer like it was going out of style. A big group of girls were celebrating a bachelorette party at the bar, wearing feather boas and drinking their cocktails through penis-shaped straws as they played their little bachelorette games. The rest of the patrons looked to be thirty and above, most of them looking as if they had come with the same intentions as her – to cut loose after a long work week and drink away their stress now that it was finally the weekend.

Maggie finally spotted the woman she had been looking for. Elena Reyes, her best friend since high school. She sat at a high top table by the window, already drinking a gin and tonic and currently oblivious to the fact that more than a few guys were checking her out. When Elena spotted her, she started to wave vigorously. Maggie returned the wave, then made her way over to the table.

"You're late," Elena said when Maggie reached her.

"Hello to you, too," Maggie replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Elena smirked, then pushed a whiskey and coke toward Maggie as she sat down next to her. "For you," she said.

Maggie smiled gratefully. "You're the _best_," she gushed, before taking a long drink, her body relaxing as the whiskey warmed her all the way to her belly.

"Rough day at work?" Elena asked knowingly.

Maggie sighed heavily and nodded.

For eight years now she had been working as a nurse in the local hospital, and considering how much she dealt with day in and day out, she seemed to have more rough days than not. But as hard and stressful and tiring – mentally _and_ physically – that it was, Maggie _loved_ her job. She was able to help people, had even _saved_ a few of them over the years, and the reward of that far outweighed any of the bad.

"Just the usual, I guess," Maggie answered. "Had an unfortunate encounter with a patient that couldn't hold down their food and decided to projectile vomit right as I was checking vitals," she explained, which made Elena cringe. "I _had _to go home and shower, hence me being late," she concluded.

"Dude, excuse _totally _accepted," Elena said. "If you had showed up here with some guy's vomit all over you, I would have left."

"I think the whole _bar _would have left," Maggie said with a snicker.

Elena snorted, then made a thoughtful noise. "Actually, that's not a bad idea," she said, looking around at the crowded bar. "Quick, make someone throw up on you. If everyone leaves, we won't have to wait so long for drinks," she then encouraged jokingly.

Maggie smirked at her friend. "I don't to have to make anyone do _anything_. It's _Kelly's_. Someone's bound to throw up sooner or later." Because if there was anything Kelly's was notorious for, it was the super strong, and super _cheap_, drinks. People always went overboard there, which meant it was _guaranteed_ that someone would throw up at some point.

"True. Very true," Elena conceded.

They paused to drink, then Maggie gave her friend a questioning look. "How about you? How was work?"

"Just another day in hell," Elena said, rolling her eyes. She worked at the Social Security office, and like any government job, that meant interacting with a lot of very irritable people, which didn't make for the most enjoyable workplace. "The weekend couldn't come fast enough," she added with a sigh.

"You could _quit,_ you know," Maggie said pointedly.

Elena shrugged. "The benefits are too good to give up," she said matter-of-factly.

"So you'll just keep wasting away at a job you hate and be miserable?" Maggie countered.

"I'm a tough girl. I can handle it," Elena assured. "Besides," she added with a grin as she grabbed her gin and tonic, "that's what _alcohol_ is for."

Maggie smirked and grabbed her own drink. "Amen to that."

Then they both laughed, clinked their glasses together, and downed the rest of their drinks.

A few drinks later, they were both feeling buzzed and chatting away enthusiastically, so involved in their own conversation that they were more or less oblivious to everyone else around them. It was hard not to notice the bachelorette party, however, since the girls were only getting louder and rowdier the more they drank. When Elena came back to their table after fetching yet another round for them both, she was shaking her head.

"Poor Phil," Elena said as she set the drinks down and reclaimed her chair. "Think he bit off more than he can chew with those girls."

Maggie looked toward the bar, where it looked like the bachelorette party was trying to coax something out of the bartender, Phil, who looked equal parts terrified and mortified by whatever it was they were asking of him.

Maggie smirked in amusement and raised her brows at Elena. "I'm sure he secretly loves it," she said. "A bunch of young pretty girls drawing attention to the bar and fawning all over him? How could he _not_ love it?"

"You make a good point," Elena said with a nod.

Maggie drank more of her whiskey and coke, her eyes scanning the crowd. There were a lot of regulars hanging around that she recognized, but plenty of patrons that she didn't. When her eyes suddenly met the gaze of a man a few tables away, she paused. She didn't know how long he had been there, nor how long he had been staring at her. He looked to be in his late twenties, perhaps early thirties. He sat with some friends, but he didn't appear to be paying much attention to whatever they were saying. Instead, he smiled as his eyes locked with Maggie's and gave her a little nod of acknowledgement.

Maggie quickly looked away and took another drink. "So," she said to Elena, "what time are you and Jack going down to the river tomorrow?"

Jack was Elena's boyfriend of nearly nine years now. He was a good guy, funny and kind and always willing to lend a helping hand. He also took his trips to the river _very_ seriously, and judging by the groan Elena let out, their impending trip was no exception to that rule.

"He wants to leave _ass_ _early_ to try to beat the crowds," Elena said with a note of complaint in her voice. "That monster plans to drag me out of bed at _five in the morning_ to start getting ready. Says we're leaving at six on the dot."

Maggie pulled a face. "You better take it easy on the cocktails, then," she said, motioning to her friend's drink. "Too many more of those and you'll be dragging some serious ass tomorrow."

Elena scoffed and waved off the warning words. "I'll be fine. I don't get hangovers, remember?"

Maggie snorted. Her friend _did_ seem to have some miraculous ability to drink copious amount of alcohol and never feel the aftereffects of it. She, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. "Wish I could say the same," Maggie grumbled. "Now that I'm in my thirties, I feel like I'm permanently hungover every day."

Elena smirked and nudged Maggie with her elbow. "That's not a hangover. That, my friend, is what we call getting old."

Maggie frowned immediately. "Excuse me. I'm only thirty one, which is not old, _thank you very much,_" she defended, which made Elena cackle evilly. "And in case you forgot, you're gonna be thirty in a few months. So if being in your thirties makes you old, then _you're_ old, too."

Elena rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand. "Either way you're still older than me, and you always will be. So there, old lady," she said, before mockingly sticking her tongue out at Maggie for good measure.

Maggie rolled her eyes, but her friend's antics still made a smile tug at her lips. "Real mature, El." Elena just laughed. "What's the plan for your dirty thirty, anyway?" Maggie asked curiously. "Anything in particular you wanna do?"

Elena heaved and gave her a pleading look. "Hide in a hole somewhere and pretend it's not happening?" she suggested.

Maggie gave her friend a look. "You make it sound like turning thirty makes you a _leper_ or something."

"Doesn't it, though?" Elena countered.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. It's not that bad. Trust me." When Elena just grumbled, looking unconvinced, Maggie shook her head. "Well, if _you_ won't plan something, then _I_ will. And when it's all said and done, you'll feel really silly for putting up such a fuss about it."

Elena just shrugged. "If you say so." She then finished her drink and set the empty glass down. "I'm gonna go pee real quick," she said, already sliding off the bar stool. "Make sure none of these hyenas steal my purse," she added, gesturing to the increasingly drunk crowd around them.

Maggie nodded, and with that Elena was off.

Now alone at the table, Maggie took another sip of her drink and sighed to herself. It had been a long day – a long _week_ – and between getting up early for work and the drinks she'd had, she was admittedly starting to feel pretty tired. A glance at her watch told her it was past eleven, which wasn't too terribly late but still a little past her normal bedtime. As much as she loved hanging out with Elena, she didn't want to stay out too much longer, especially so since she had plans to get up early and head out to the country the following morning.

A rise in volume by the pool tables made her look that way. The game that had been going on had stopped and a few of the guys were talking loudly to each other, gesturing wildly to the table every so often. Judging by their pissed off expressions, she had to guess that someone might have tried to cheat and had gotten caught. The guys were looking angrier by the second, and though the rest of their friends seemed to be trying to diffuse the situation, it wasn't doing much good. The two that were arguing started to shove each other back and forth, which made Maggie shake her head in disapproval.

That just proved it – testosterone and alcohol _didn't_ mix well together.

"Hello."

The new voice made her blink in surprise and look to her left, forgetting all about the fight about to break out across the room. She sat a little straighter upon seeing that it was the guy she had locked eyes with a few minutes ago, the one that had been sitting a few tables over with his friends.

"Er, hi," she said back. She hadn't expected him to approach her. The fact that he _had_ had thrown her for a loop.

The guy smiled at her, and, really, he wasn't bad looking. He had pretty blue eyes and a nice head of dark hair, he looked like he was in decent shape, and even his clothing choices weren't bad. Maggie noticed that his smile made a dimple appear in his left cheek, which was admittedly pretty cute. But even though she found him attractive, she still felt guard go up. The fact that he had approached her meant that he must have been interested, which immediately made her feel uncomfortable.

"I hope you don't mind me coming over here," he said, easy smile still in place. "I didn't want to interrupt while you were talking to your friend, but then I saw her leave and I thought I'd take the chance to come over and introduce myself." He hesitated, then stuck out a hand. "I'm Mason."

Maggie looked at his hand, then, out of politeness, slowly reached out to shake it. "Maggie," she introduced.

Mason smiled a little bit wider. "Pretty name. Guess it's only fitting," he complimented with a meaningful look.

Maggie felt her cheeks heat up a little at the compliment. "Thanks."

Mason took a step closer and leaned an elbow on the table. "I think I've seen you here before," he commented to get the conversation going. "You seem familiar."

Maggie shrugged a shoulder. "I come here every now and again," she said, which was a bit of an understatement. She came to Kelly's frequently enough to be considered a regular, but she didn't necessarily want Mason to know that. She didn't want to give him any ideas about trying to approach her in the future.

"You're from around here?" he asked with interest.

Maggie nodded. "Yeah. Been in the area since I started working full time."

"And what do you do for work?" Mason asked without missing a beat.

"I'm a nurse," Maggie answered.

Mason's brows raised. He looked impressed. "Wow. That's awesome."

Maggie shrugged a modest shoulder and gave him a small smile. "It's hard work, but it's rewarding, too."

"I bet," Mason agreed with a nod. "I have a friend who's a nurse, and she looks like she's dead on her feet most of the time," he said conversationally. "I'm sure you need nights like these every now and again to unwind, huh?"

Maggie nodded. "It certainly helps manage the stress levels, that's for sure."

Mason chuckled a bit, then looked at her drink, which was just about finished off by now. He straightened up and gave her another smile. "Well, in the interest of managing your stress levels, how about I get you another drink?" he offered, motioning to her nearly empty glass. "Then maybe I can join you and you can tell me how you got into nursing?" he added hopefully.

Maggie pressed her lips together. He was being very nice and she wasn't getting any creepy vibes off of him, but she was still hesitant to accept the offer. She had come to the bar tonight to hang out with her friend and unwind after a long week of work – she was not interested in trying to find herself a potential man. The last thing she wanted to do was lead Mason on or give him hope where there wasn't any.

She was in the process of trying to think of a gentle way to let him down when, thankfully, Elena returned. "Holy shit, dude. You called it on the puking thing. One of those girls from the bachelorette party was in there and she was yacking her guts up _everywhere_. It was _so_ – oh." Elena stopped short when she finally realized that Mason was there. She looked at the man with raised brows, then turned questioning eyes on Maggie. "Who's your new friend?"

"Elena, this is Mason. Mason, this Elena," Maggie quickly introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you," Elena said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise," Mason said. "I hope you don't mind me interrupting your night out," he added with a friendly smile.

"No, no. No problem at all," Elena said quickly, giving Maggie a not so discreet look. She knew what that look meant, and it wouldn't result in anything good if Maggie allowed things to proceed. "Are you planning on joining us?"

Mason looked at Maggie. "I was hoping to, if that's alright."

Maggie shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable under the expectant stares from both Mason and from Elena. She looked at Mason, who had hope burning in his blue eyes, to her best friend, who raised her brows and gave a subtle, encouraging nod. After a few seconds, Maggie finally sighed and decided to go with what her gut was telling her to do. And her gut, unfortunately, was telling her to decline.

"Actually, I think Elena and I should call it a night," she said gently. "We both have an early start tomorrow and should probably cut ourselves off so we won't be zombies in the morning. _Right_, Elena?" she asked, giving her friend a pointed look.

Elena frowned and looked like she wanted to argue, but when Maggie raised her brows, the woman finally sighed with what sounded like defeat. "Yeah. Right," she agreed reluctantly.

Mason looked disappointed, but nodded in acceptance anyway. "Yeah, of course. I understand."

Maggie tried to ignore the small guilty feeling that bloomed in her belly. "Sorry," she offered lamely.

Mason recovered enough to smile and shake his head. "It's fine," he said. "Maybe…maybe we'll see each other around?"

Maggie nodded. "Maybe."

Mason looked at her for a moment, then gave one last smile. "Nice to meet you, Maggie. You, too, Elena."

"Nice to meet you, too," Maggie said, while Elena just inclined her head.

Mason left after that and went wandering back to the table he shared with his friends. Maggie and Elena both watched him go, before looking to one another. When Maggie saw a look on her friend's face that she recognized all too well, she sighed and shook her head. "Don't even say it," she said, before finishing off her drink. "Let's just close our tab and go, okay?"

Elena really looked like she wanted to say something, but she refrained. "Okay," she agreed.

After they had gathered their stuff, paid their bill, and said goodbye to Phil, they headed outside to await the Ubers that they had ordered to take them to their separate homes. They stood outside the bar in silence for a few moments, listening to the racket inside and fidgeting uncomfortably as the humid, summertime heat of Texas swamped them. Eventually, though, Maggie became aware of the fact that Elena was staring a hole into the side of her head. Finally, she sighed and looked at her friend.

"I know what you're thinking," she said bluntly.

"What am I thinking?" Elena countered.

Maggie sighed and raked a hand through her hair. "That he was cute and friendly and that I'm a chicken shit."

Elena shrugged. "You're partly right," she admitted. Then she frowned and looked at Maggie with sympathy. "Honestly? More than anything I'm just…_sad_."

Maggie pressed her lips together and looked elsewhere just so she didn't have to see the look being directed at her. "That's worse," she sighed. She hated pity. It always made her feel stupid and weak.

Elena ignored the comment. "Mags…it's been _three_ _years_. Three years of watching you turn down any guy that comes up to you. Three years of watching you build those walls up around yourself higher and higher and higher." Elena placed a gentle hand on her arm, which made Maggie look back to her. "I know why you're scared. I _do._ But you can't keep closing yourself off like this. There might be something really good for you out there, but you won't even give yourself a chance to find it. And that's not fair to _you."_

Maggie looked at her friend for a long moment, then sighed heavily and shook her head. "I'm just…_not ready_," she said.

"When will you be?" Elena persisted.

Maggie shrugged, beginning to feel the first tinges of frustration. "I don't know, okay? It's not like I have an _expiration_ _date_ on this shit." Maggie pressed her lips together and shook her head again. "What's the point, anyway?" she asked bitterly. "What man in his right mind would want a woman that's _broken_?"

Elena tightened her grip on Maggie's arm, her expression turning fierce. "You are _not_ broken," she said firmly. "What you are is _smart_ and _beautiful_ and the best damn person anyone could hope to know. Any guy out there would be _lucky_ to be with you."

A face flashed through her mind. The face of the man she had loved. Who had once vowed to be with her through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad times. The man who had, eventually, broken those vows and gone off to find himself a new, perfect life with his new, perfect wife and their new, perfect baby. Even now, thinking of him made her feel like someone was stabbing her in the heart.

"Paul didn't seem to think so," Maggie muttered, bitterness still thick in her tone.

Elena scoffed, her expression turning to one of loathing. "Paul's a fucking _idiot_. He doesn't even deserve to breathe the same _air_ as you."

Maggie looked at her friend again, then sighed and shook her head. She really didn't want to talk about this anymore. She just wanted to go home and get some sleep.

"Look, I know you're concerned and I know you just want me to be happy. But, El…I _am_ happy," Maggie assured her with a small smile. "I've got a good job. I've got my family. And I've got you. I don't need anything else, alright?"

Elena's expression softened at those words. Finally, she smiled and nodded, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Alright," she said, clearly sensing that she should drop the subject for now.

As if on cue, the Uber that Elena had ordered came driving into view. It stopped just in front of them, and after Elena confirmed that it was indeed her driver, she turned back to Maggie. "Time to go. You'll call me when you get home, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Maggie assured her with a nod.

Elena smiled, then titled her head. "It's not too late for you to change your mind about the river, you know," she said. "This is the first full weekend you've had off in months. Why don't you come with us? We can float down the river, drink cheap beer, get super tan," Elena said, wagging her eyebrows invitingly.

Maggie smirked. _"You'd_ get tan. _I'd_ turn into a lobster," she reminded, gesturing to her fair skin.

Elena laughed. "It'd still be fun, though," she insisted. "What do you say?"

Maggie smiled, but shook her head. "Thanks for the invite, but I can't. I already promised Papa I'd visit him for the weekend, and I can't go back on that."

Elena nodded understandingly. "Can't blame me for trying." Elena then stepped forward to hug her tightly. Maggie returned the hug just as tight. "Have fun with your grandpa and tell him I said hi. And call me if you need me, okay?"

"Right back at you," Maggie said.

They finally released each other, and then Elena went to get into the Uber. Maggie stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans, watching her friend go and feeling a rush of gratitude for how supportive and wonderful she always was. She'd have been lost without Elena. There was no doubt about that.

"El?" she called out, making Elena pause halfway into the backseat. "Love you," Maggie said with a smile.

Elena grinned. "Love you, too."

Then she got into the car, and after she rolled down the window to wave goodbye, she was gone.

It took a few more minutes for Maggie's Uber to arrive. Seventeen minutes and one nice conversation with an exceptionally friendly driver later, she was unlocking her front door and stepping into her dark, empty house. Maggie stood in the foyer for a second, glancing around at her quiet surroundings, before she set her keys and purse down on the table by the door and went into the kitchen to get some water.

It was the house she had lived in with Paul, which he had allowed her to keep after the divorce. Kind of him to do so, she had bitterly decided – at least he hadn't left her husbandless and homeless. She walked into what had once been their bedroom, which no longer housed any of his possessions and had been redecorated at least five times in an attempt to rid the memories of him being there. Sometimes it worked – sometimes she forgot he had ever even been there. Other times, however, it didn't work. Other times she could still see him there, in every inch of the room they had shared for five, happy years.

Tonight, unfortunately, was one of _those_ nights. Maggie lingered in the doorway with her water in hand, feeling as though she could still hear him snoring in bed. Still see him shaving in the adjoining bathroom. Still watch him standing in front of the full length mirror in the corner of the room, getting dressed for work while he chatted away about anything and everything.

Maggie felt an uncomfortable tug in her chest. She had cried over Paul more times than she could count. He had been her first love – her _only_ love. She had been certain that she would spend the rest of her life with him. But the universe, it seemed, had other plans. Maggie could not give him what he wanted, and Paul had left her because of it. The happiness she had once felt, the future she had once planned for, was long gone. He had taken that with him when he had left, and she hated him for that. Hated him for breaking his promises and breaking her heart.

But deep down, she still loved him. Because he had been perfect. He had been the one. And as much as she didn't want to, Maggie knew that she would always love him. And that, quite honesty, just made her hate him even more.

Sighing, Maggie did her best to push Paul from her thoughts and went into the bathroom to wash her face. When her makeup was off and she had brushed her teeth to get rid of the taste of alcohol lingering on her tongue, she leaned her hands against the bathroom sink and stared at her reflection. Her red, curly hair had grown long enough to cover her chest and was in desperate need of a haircut that she simply hadn't had time for. Her already fair skin seemed paler than usual from lack of spending time outside. She also looked skinnier than normal, which was probably due to the fact that her busy job meant constantly being on the move and having very little time for meal breaks.

It was her eyes, however, that really caught her attention. Her blue eyes had once held a certain spark to them, a joy and liveliness that had been there when life had been all sunshine and rainbows. But as hard as she looked for it now, she couldn't find that spark anywhere. It was gone.

Paul must have taken _that,_ too.

Maggie finished her nighttime routine, pulled her curly hair up into a messy knot on the top of her head, then changed into something comfortable to sleep in. Once she had slid into bed, she sighed with relief and turned onto her side, punching her pillow a couple of times until it was fluffy and felt just right underneath her head.

For a few minutes she just lay there in silence, thinking about her night with Elena and the things they had talked about. She knew Elena wanted her to get back into the dating world. She knew her friend just wanted her to be happy again. But after what had happened with Paul, Maggie just wasn't sure she could put herself out there again. What if what happened with Paul happened with someone else? It had been hard enough the first time around – she didn't think she'd survive it a second time.

So what if she didn't have someone to come home to? So what if she didn't have a good man to share her life with and look at her with love in his eyes? She had had that once, and look how it had turned out. Yes, she was alone, but she was starting to think it was better that way. At least this way she couldn't get hurt again. At least this way her heart was protected.

Like she had told Elena – she had her job, her friends, and her family. And that was all she really needed.

* * *

Maggie pulled up to her grandfather's ranch house at exactly eight fifty-two the next morning. She parked on the gravel driveway just behind his old, beat up pickup truck, climbed out of the car, then went up to the front door. She let herself in without bothering to knock and was immediately hit with the scent of coffee and bacon, accompanied with the very familiar, and very comforting, smell of _home_.

"Magpie?" a voice called from the kitchen. "That you?"

"It is!" she called back.

"Come on in the kitchen, honey!" her grandfather called, sounding excited.

Maggie made her way toward the kitchen, the old floorboards creaking under her boots as she went. When she reached her destination, she smiled widely at the sight of her grandfather and felt the heaviness that had hung over her the night before immediately lift. Her grandfather, Ernie MacManus, was pushing eighty-five, but one wouldn't know it by looking at him. Having stayed active all his life, he was still strong and sharp minded, albeit perhaps a bit more slow moving than he once had been. He stood tall and broad, with a bit of a beer belly and much thinner hair than what he had had in his younger years. As soon as he saw her, he moved away from the coffee he had been pouring into his favorite mug and came over to hug her tightly. He smelled like Old Spice, just as always, and it brought a fond smile to her face.

He kissed her cheek, then released her to smile at her adoringly. "I didn't think you'd make it in so early," he said.

"Traffic on the road was light. I made better timing than expected," Maggie said. She then looked to the stove, where it appeared that breakfast had just finished being made. "What's for breakfast?" she asked.

Ernie smiled widely and guided her to a chair, where he gestured for her to sit. "We've got biscuits and gravy, bacon, some fried eggs, and buttered toast," he said, already grabbing plates from the cupboard to start filling them up for the both of them. "Hope ya brought your appetite, 'cause we're gonna feast," he added with a grin.

Maggie quirked a brow at her grandfather's meal choice. It was all delicious comfort food, yes, but not exactly the best for the health, which was a concern. "I thought I told you to lay off on the fatty stuff, Papa," she said, giving him a look. "Your cholesterol was sky high the last time you went in for a check-up. I know you still think you're twenty, but you're no spring chicken anymore. You gotta watch it."

Ernie waved off her warning. "I'm fine, Magpie. I feel healthy as a horse, just as always."

Maggie hummed, unconvinced. He was in fairly good health for a man his age, but there was no denying that he had been much better off when her grandmother had still been around to force-feed him vegetables every now and again. "You still need to be careful. We had a deal, remember? I won't hire someone to hang around here to keep an eye on you as long as you promise to take care of yourself – including eating well," she reminded.

"And I do take care of myself, thank you," Ernie interjected. "I work outside, I take care of the house, I stay active," he listed off.

"And you also go down to the diner to scarf down burgers and bar-b-que with old Freddie Winston every other day and drink enough beer to put a frat house to shame," she added with a quirk of her brow. "Nana would roll in her grave if she saw the shit you get up to when I'm not around to keep an eye on you," Maggie said matter-of-factly.

Ernie clicked his tongue and gave her a look of disapproval as he came to set a plate of food and a mug of coffee down in front of her. "She'd roll _more_ if she heard you usin' language like that," he scolded.

Maggie just held her hands up in surrender, silently apologizing for cursing.

Ernie went to get his own food and coffee, then sat down in the chair across from her, groaning involuntarily when his joints protested. "Look," Ernie said, "I'm a grown man. I been takin' care of myself for ten years now. I know what 'ta do and I know what I can handle, alright?"

Maggie looked at him for a moment, then reached across the table to place a hand over his wrinkly, age-spotted one. "I'm not trying to nag. I just…_worry_ about you, Papa," she said with a frown. "You're the only family I've got left. I'd like to keep you around as long as possible, if that's alright with you."

Ernie smiled and patted her hand. "I 'preciate the concern, but I'm doin' just fine here, Magpie. Promise," he said with a nod. "An' just so you know, I'm not plannin' to go nowhere anytime soon," he added, giving her a cheeky grin. "Ya won't be rid'a me that easy."

"Good," Maggie said, before looking down at her plate of food. As much crap as she had given him for his diet choices, she did have to admit that the food looked _really_ good. "Not even gonna lie – this looks _amazing_," she admitted with a sheepish smile.

Ernie smiled proudly. "Tuck in before it gets cold."

"Yes, sir," she said, before quickly digging in.

They spent the morning catching up with each other, the conversation flowing easily as they finished breakfast, helped themselves to a second cup of coffee, and then eventually moved out onto the porch to enjoy the morning sunshine. While they talked about her work and things that had happened on the ranch and what people in town were getting up to, Maggie couldn't stop herself from looking around at her grandfather's land with adoring eyes, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time now that she was back home. Because that was exactly what this place was to her – home.

When Maggie had been just six years old, her parents had tragically died in a car accident. They had been coming back from some dinner with her father's co-workers when a drunk driver had veered onto the wrong side of the road and smashed head on into their car going at least double the speed limit. Her father had died on impact, but her mother hadn't. Badly wounded and mostly unresponsive, she had spent four days in critical condition in the hospital, where doctors had tried everything they could to save her. There was nothing to be done, however, and she had eventually succumbed to her injuries.

Maggie had wound up in the care of her mother's parents, Ernie and Susan MacManus. Her grandparents had raised her, taken care of her, made sure that she wanted for nothing. The loss of her parents had been devastating, and she still missed them to this very day. But her grandparents had stepped up, had taken her in, and had done everything in their power to give her a happy life. And they had succeeded. She had infinitely more good memories than bad ones, and it was all because Ernie and Susan had gone above and beyond for her. She loved them as if they were own parents – to her, they _were_ her parents.

Now, twenty five years later, it was only Maggie and her grandfather left. Her grandmother had, unfortunately, passed away ten years previous after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She had done treatments for over a year, but the cancer had been too aggressive to beat. Susan had passed away at the age of seventy three, and her death had shattered them both – Maggie had lost another mother, and Ernie had lost the woman he had loved for over fifty years.

Maggie and Ernie had turned to one another for support, and, together, they had managed to find a way to move on with life. Ernie had thrown himself into taking care of the ranch to keep himself distracted, and Maggie had decided to go into nursing, her grandmother's illness giving her a newfound determination to try do everything she could to help people in need. But no matter what, no matter how busy she was during school or how many hours she worked once she had landed a job in the hospital, Maggie always made sure she was there for her grandfather. He was all she had left, and she was going to make sure he was taken care of.

They were still sitting out on the porch in their favorite rocking chairs when Ernie asked the question Maggie positively dreaded being asked.

"So," he said a bit too casually. "How's the love life these days, Magpie?"

Maggie snorted and shook her head. "Nonexistent," she answered.

Ernie frowned in response. "Now why is that? Are you havin' trouble meetin' people?"

Maggie shrugged. "Something like that," she answered vaguely.

Ernie hummed thoughtfully. "Well, you could always try that tinderbox thing if it's too hard 'ta meet people natural."

Maggie smirked and quirked a brow at her grandfather. "Try what now?" she asked with amusement. She was pretty sure she knew what he was referring to, but she wanted to see if he would say it again.

"You know," Ernie said, waving a hand. "That _tinderbox_ thing on the telephone. The one where ya swipe if ya like someone or somthin' like that."

Suspicions confirmed, Maggie cracked a grin. "It's called _Tinder_, and I'd rather not go down that road," she said with a shake of her head. "Most of the people on there are just looking for a booty call anyway."

"Booty call?" Ernie echoed uncertainly.

Since she was _not_ about to explain to her eighty something year old grandfather what a _booty_ _call_ was, Maggie waved a hand. "Not important," she dismissed. "The fact is that I'm not dating because I'm not _interested_. Even if I was – which, I repeat, I'm _not_ – work doesn't really allow the time, anyway," she added with a shrug.

Ernie looked displeased. "I know how important your work is to ya, Magpie, but there's more 'ta life than that," he stated matter-of-factly. "You should find someone 'ta share your life with. Someone that makes ya happy."

"I _do_ have someone who makes me happy," Maggie countered. "I've got _you_," she said, giving him a smile.

Ernie gave her a fond look at those words, but then frowned and shook his head. "I'm an old man, sweetheart. I won't be around forever. I hate 'ta think of you all by your lonesome once I'm dead an' gone."

"First of all, can we not talk about you _dying_ please?" Maggie said with a slight frown. "And second, I won't be alone. I've got Elena around to keep me company. She told me to tell you hi, by the way."

Ernie perked up at the mention of her best friend, whom he'd had a soft spot for ever since he had met her. "How is Elena doin'? She still with that Jack feller?" he asked.

"She's great. And yeah, they're still together," Maggie answered with a nod.

"That man ever gonna put a ring on her finger, or what?" Ernie asked.

Maggie nodded in confirmation. "He will. I've been helping him look at rings whenever I've got the time. Once he picks one out, it's only a matter of time before he pops the question," she said.

Maggie was happy for her friend, happy that she had a good man who practically worshipped the ground that she walked on. But talking about her friend's happiness and the future she had with her boyfriend brought a small frown to Maggie's face. She couldn't help but feel a small twinge of jealousy, simply because she didn't see something like that in her own future.

A hand on her arm made her look over at her grandfather, who was frowning at her with sympathy. He had seen the look on her face, and it was obvious he had figured out exactly what was bothering her. "I know that boy broke your heart, Maggie," he said seriously. "I will never forgive him for what he's done, an' if I ever see him again, he'll know _exactly_ what I think about him." Ernie paused and squeezed her arm. "But I think it's time we put him out of our minds, don't you?"

Maggie sighed and shook her head. "It's not as easy as all that, Papa," she said gently.

"We ought'a at least try," Ernie insisted. "He's done enough damage as is. Now you have a chance to move on, to find somethin' _better_. To find a man who will treat ya the way you deserve." Ernie shook his head. "Don't let _him_ ruin that."

Maggie looked at her grandfather for a moment, before slowly lifting a brow. "Did Elena call you or something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Ernie frowned with confusion. "No? Why you ask?"

"Because she said almost the same thing to me last night," Maggie revealed.

Ernie smiled. "Great minds think alike, I s'pose."

"Guess so," Maggie agreed. She looked away with a sigh, mulling over what Ernie had said, before finally looking to him again. "Look, I can't make any promises about throwing myself back into the dating world," she said slowly. "But I'll…_think_ about it."

Ernie grinned widely at that. "Good enough for me."

Maggie gave him a flicker of a smile in return. She didn't really have any intention of actively pursuing any dates – she had only really said it in the hope that it would make her grandfather drop the subject of Paul and her pitiful love life post-divorce. Thankfully, it seemed to work. Ernie finally stood from his rocking chair, taking a moment to hike his pants up and readjust them.

"Alright, then. I'd love to sit and chat all day, but them chickens ain't gonna feed themselves," he said. "I gotta get to work."

"You need some help out there?" Maggie asked as she, too, stood from her rocking chair.

Ernie shook his head. "Naw. I got it."

Maggie nodded. "I'll just start doing a little cleaning inside, then." She had always been better at household chores than Ernie was, anyway, and Lord knew her grandfather wasn't the best at keeping up with his laundry – there was probably a mountain of dirty clothes waiting for her in his bedroom.

"Sounds good." He then smiled and stepped in close, patting her fondly on the cheek. "It's good 'ta have ya home, even if only for a bit."

Maggie smiled a genuine, happy smile. "Glad to _be_ home."

Ernie smiled wider, then leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. The affectionate gesture made her instantly feel better and more at ease. "I'll be out by the barn if ya need me," he said.

"Alright. Call me if you need help," Maggie insisted.

"Will do."

Ernie wandered off after that, leaving Maggie alone on the porch. She watched him go until she couldn't see him any longer, then let her eyes take in the familiar sights of the ranch one more time. With a smile on her face and contentment in heart, she finally went inside.

* * *

**Alrighty! So first off, welcome! This is the first time I've attempted a story like this, so I'm still not completely sure how this is going to go. But I have high hopes, and I hope you guys are interested!**

**As I said in the summary, this story is semi-inspired by Outlander, which is a show I absolutely adore. It won't play out exactly as that plot does because this is obviously a very different setting and a very different story, but for those of you familiar with the books/show, I think you'll see pretty quickly where some of the inspiration comes from. I should take this moment to say that I clearly don't own anything pertaining to Outlander. That's all Diana Gabaldon, who is far more clever than I can ever hope to be.**

**Anywho, this will be an Arthur/OC story, though I should warn that this will be a bit of a slow burn situation. Like I said already, I'm still not completely sure where this is going yet. I'll keep this rated T for now, but there's a chance the rating might get bumped up to M. I hope y'all enjoyed the prologue, though, and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter One

**Quick note – I wasn't entirely satisfied with the prologue and made some changes a few days after posting it. It isn't drastically different and I think most of you who are following the story have read the updated version. But a scene that had originally been at the end of the prologue has been moved to this chapter, so I just wanted to make everyone aware of that so as to avoid confusion. **

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing related to the Red Dead Redemption franchise.**

* * *

_Chapter One_

* * *

Though it was a long day full of chores and errands, it was oddly soothing to be working on the ranch with her grandfather again. Helping Ernie on the ranch felt _normal_, and though some of the work was hard and left her with the feeling she'd have some sore muscles the next day, it felt good to be productive. Between the company of her grandfather and the housework that kept them busy, Maggie also found that she didn't have time to think about the things that had been bothering her the past day or so, which was a huge bonus. She was home, she was with family, and she was _happy_. And nothing in the world could ruin that.

That evening, Maggie stood in front of the stove cooking up some chicken and vegetables she'd picked up from the grocery store after making a quick stop in town. The radio was on and playing an upbeat Elvis Presley song, which she couldn't resist singing along with.

"_Ooh, ooh, ooh,__I feel my temperature rising_," she sang, dancing a little as she flipped the chicken, then moved to stir the vegetables. "_Help me, I'm flaming__, __I must be a hundred and nine!_"

"_Burning, burning, burning,__ a__nd nothing can cool me_," a new voice chimed in, making her look to the door. Ernie had returned from getting cleaned up, and he was now dancing and singing the song, too. "_I just might turn into smoke__, bu__t I feel fine_!"

He suddenly came over to take the utensils out of her hands and set them to the side, then he pulled her away from the stove to start leading her in a two-step around the kitchen, singing loudly all the while. Maggie laughed and sang with him, letting him guide her around the kitchen, her red curls swinging behind her every time he twirled in a quick circle.

Dancing around the kitchen like this was practically a tradition in the MacManus house. Growing up, she had often caught her grandparents dancing together while preparing dinner. Sometimes the dancing had been quick and lively, just as they were dancing now – other times it had been slower, more loving and gentle as they listened to slow, romantic love songs. Maggie had always loved to watch her grandparents dance, and had always been more than happy to join in. It was one of her favorite things in the world and some of her fondest memories from growing up.

As fun as the dancing was, however, the smell of burning chicken quickly brought her back down to earth. "The food!" Maggie said, quickly pulling away from Ernie to go and check on their dinner. Luckily, she was able to save it before the chicken could get _too_ overcooked. "Chicken might be a little dry," she warned as she shut off the burners.

Ernie waved a hand as he went to the fridge. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he said. He opened the fridge, then pulled out a can of Coors. "Can I tempt ya?"

Having a beer after a long day off manual labor sounded like heaven to Maggie. "Well, if you're gonna twist my arm," she said with a joking smile.

Ernie chuckled and grabbed another beer.

They settled in to eat a few minutes later, turning the radio down so it wasn't so loud but not turning it off completely. Ernie hummed appreciatively as he tucked in, though Maggie wasn't sure if it was because he liked the taste of the food or the beer better.

"Thanks for cookin', Magpie," he said gratefully.

"My pleasure," she told him with a smile. She took a drink of beer, then raised her brows questioningly. "So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?"

Ernie finished his bite of food, then gave her a little smile. "I was thinkin' we could go out ridin' for a bit," he said. "That new mare I bought off Jim Colbeth few weeks back has been itchin' to stretch her legs. Thought maybe you'd be interested in takin' her for a spin."

Maggie immediately perked up. She'd grown up riding horses almost her whole life, but she hadn't had one of her own in _years_ and rarely got the chance to go riding now that work kept her away from the ranch for so long. She had gotten to interact with Ernie's new horse earlier, but there hadn't been any time to go riding. The offer to take the mare out for a bit was one she was not about to refuse.

"That sounds great! Count me in," she immediately agreed.

Ernie grinned. "It's a date, then," he said. "Maybe after we can pop into the diner for lunch? Bob would love 'ta see ya. He always did have a soft spot for ya." Ernie paused to drink his beer, then gave her a look. "His grandson _Ricky_ did, too, if I recall correct," he added.

Bob Howe, the owner of the local diner, was her grandfather's best friend. Ricky, Bob's oldest grandson and now business partner, was someone she had gone to school with from elementary all the way up until high school. According to town gossip, Ricky had always had a crush on her, and while he was a nice guy, Maggie had never been interested in him _that_ way.

She suddenly had a strong inclination that Ernie might be trying to play matchmaker. Maggie quirked a brow and gave him a knowing look. "You trying to pull something, Papa?"

Ernie put on his most innocent expression. "Why, of _course_ not," he denied, placing a hand over his heart. "Just thought you'd enjoy seeing old friends, is all."

Maggie snorted. She wasn't buying his act, not even for a second. "Papa, I love you…but you are _so_ full of it." Ernie laughed heartily at that. "We can go to the diner, but don't you _dare_ try to play Cupid," she warned. "If you try to set me up with Ricky, I _will_ put you in a nursing home."

Ernie gave her a look of mock horror. "You _wouldn't_."

"I _would,"_ she countered swiftly, which, of course, wasn't _actually_ true. "So no funny business," she commanded with a stern point. "You got that?"

Ernie heaved and rolled his eyes, but still nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

Maggie nodded, satisfied. "Thank you."

Ernie just grumbled in response.

They moved on from the topic of Ricky and any potential matchmaking on Ernie's part and finished their dinner in comfortable conversation. When they had finished eating, Maggie collected their plates and took them to the sink while Ernie finished off his second beer at the table. After putting the leftovers away, Maggie fetched the pans she'd used to cook dinner and got started on the dishes.

"Want some help?" Ernie offered.

Maggie smiled at him over her shoulder and shook her head. "Nah. I've got it. Why don't you go relax in the living room? I'll come join you after I'm done and we can watch a movie or something."

Ernie's eyes lit up. "Wanna watch _True Grit_?" he asked hopefully.

It was her grandfather's favorite John Wayne movie, which they had watched probably at _least_ a hundred times before. Despite that, it never got old for Ernie, and he was so hopeful that she just didn't have the heart to tell him no. "Sure," Maggie agreed.

Ernie smiled brightly. "Wonderful! I'll get it set up, then!"

Ernie pushed back from the table and stood up, a large grin still stretched across his aged face. Maggie laughed at his enthusiasm at first, but when Ernie suddenly frowned and swayed to the left, looking unsteady on his feet, she abruptly sobered up and rushed over to catch him before he could fall, bracing her wet, soapy hands on his shoulders.

"Hey, whoa," Maggie said, brows pinched with concern. "You okay?"

Ernie shook his head a bit as if clearing his head, then gave her a small smile. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. Just…stood up too fast, I think."

Maggie still didn't release him. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking him over with worry.

Ernie nodded. "Certain. It just happens sometimes. Effects of old age, I'm afraid," he said with a light chuckle.

Maggie finally released him. He did not sway again, much to her relief. "Alright, then. Just…slow it down a little, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

Ernie patted her on the shoulder, then left the kitchen. Maggie watched him go, still feeling mildly concerned, then sighed to herself and went back to the sink to finish the dishes.

Three hours and one western movie later, Ernie had gone to bed and Maggie sat at the old desk in front of her bedroom window, hair tied in a messy braid and eyes trained on the screen of her laptop as she responded to some emails from work colleagues.

It always felt a little weird staying in her old bedroom, simply because nothing about it had been changed since she had moved out. The twin bed still has the same, ugly plaid comforter she had picked out as a teenager, the bookshelf and dresser were still covered in various knickknacks she had collected in her adolescence, and the walls were still covered in posters of bands she used to listen to and celebrities she used to have crushes on. Maggie had told her grandfather to change up the decorations on more than one occasion, but he never had. He insisted that he liked it the way it was. He claimed it made him feel like she still lived there.

Maggie was listening to her Johnny Cash station on Pandora as she worked. The bedroom window was open, allowing the breeze outside to swirl into her room and making the curtains around the window flutter. It felt a little better out here in the country with the wind free to move about, but the humidity still made the hairs around her face frizz and stick out in haphazard directions.

Her fingers clacked away on the keyboard, her face set with concentration, only pausing in her typing now and again to brush away any errant hairs that tickled her face. When she had finally finished the last email, she leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms up high overhead, sighing to herself. She then closed her laptop, determined to stop thinking about work, and reached for her water to take a long drink.

Her eyes turned to a picture frame on her desk, which contained a photograph of her parents when they had still been dating. Maggie set down her water and picked up the picture frame, smiling to herself as she pulled it closer and stared hard at the faces of her parents.

Her father, Clint, had been a little on the short side, but he had certainly been a good looking man and his smile was positively infectious. In the picture he had an arm around her mother and was looking at her with so much love, Maggie could practically feel it through the photograph. _God_, he had loved her _so_ _much_.

Maggie looked at her mother next. Laura MacManus Beckett had been _gorgeous_. Slender but womanly, near perfect features, and a personality so warm and so inviting that it had been impossible to dislike her. People that had known Laura always said that Maggie looked just like her, which she had always taken as a very high compliment. If people thought she was even _half _as beautiful as her mother had been, then she considered herself very lucky indeed.

Maggie stared at the picture for a few more moments. She thought about her parents a lot – wondered how different things might have been had they lived. She wasn't sure she would have become a nurse if they had, since living with her grandmother and witnessing firsthand what her cancer had done to her had been the driving force to send her down that road in the first place. Had she not become a nurse, she likely never would have met Paul, whom she had been introduced to by a friend from nursing school. Not meeting Paul meant she wouldn't have married him, which wouldn't have allowed the chance for her to become the divorced, jaded woman she was now.

Yes. Things _certainly_ would have been different.

Maggie set the picture down with a sigh, then turned her eyes to the window when a cricket began to chirp loudly just outside.

And it was then, in that moment, that she saw him.

A man was standing in the yard, staring intently up at her through the open window. His attire was a bit odd, simply because it looked completely out of date. He wore a button up blue shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, dark working pants held up by suspenders, cowboy boots with spurs on the heels, and a worn looking cowboy hat atop his head. It was an outfit that seemed far more fitting for the eighteen hundreds, not twenty-nineteen. And it was also hard not to notice the fact that there was a _pistol_ hanging from his hip.

Maggie froze, her heart leaping into her throat. Who was that man? Where had he come from? And what the _hell_ was he doing in her grandfather's yard watching her through the window like some kind of voyeur? Then Maggie started to feel angry. This stranger was trespassing on private property and _spying_ on her. Just who in the hell did he think he was?

She stood from her chair roughly and braced her hands on the desk as she leaned closer to the window. "Hey!" she called outside. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He did not respond, which made her frown. "_Hey_! I'm _talking_ to you!" she shouted even louder. "You're not allowed to be here! Now go, before I call the cops!"

Still, he didn't respond, nor did he move.

A rational voice in her mind was telling her that she was being a complete idiot, that she should stop yelling threats at the strange, armed man outside and call the cops before he decided to come in and start shooting the place up. But the fact that he was just standing there _staring_ at her, doing nothing at all and seemingly uncaring of the fact that she was yelling at him, was _weird_. Maggie blinked in confusion, completely baffled by the man's behavior, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up her spine. Finally, she snapped out of it and turned to reach for her phone to make good on her threat and call the local cops. When she looked to the window a second later, however, this time with her phone in hand, she froze again with shock.

The man was _gone_.

Maggie gaped in complete bafflement, leaning over the desk again to stick her head outside as far as she could, looking this way and that. But there was nobody there. The man was _definitely_ gone now.

She frowned and moved back from the window, clutching her phone tightly in her hands. How in the world had that man managed to disappear in the one second it had taken to grab her phone? From where he had been, it would have been _impossible _for him to run away without her at least being able to see him do it. But it was almost as if he had disappeared into _thin_ _air_, which only confused her further.

Maggie could admit that there were times where she would be so tired from work that her eyes would sometimes play tricks on her, but she had never hallucinated seeing a person, and _certainly_ not a man who looked like he was straight out of an old Western movie. Plus she wasn't even _tired_ at the moment. It couldn't have been a trick of her mind, and it certainly hadn't been a trick of the light, either. _Someone_ had been there, she decided. She didn't know where he had come from or how he had disappeared so fast, but she was _not_ _crazy_. He had _definitely_ been there.

…or _had_ he?

Maybe she _was_ crazy after all.

At that exact moment, as she tried to make sense of what had just happened, the door to her bedroom swung open, making her whip around with a shriek of fright. Convinced it was the man from outside coming to kill her, she reared back and prepared to throw her phone at him as hard as she could. She froze, however, upon seeing it was just her grandfather, who looked disheveled from sleep and alarmed by her shouting.

"What in the Sam Hill is goin' on? Why are you shoutin'?" he demanded.

Maggie didn't know what to say. She couldn't very well tell him that she had just seen a man more or less vanish into thin air – she would sound like a _lunatic_. She looked at Ernie, her words stuck in her throat, then looked out the window again, eyes searching the empty, innocent landscape beyond. Finally, she turned an apologetic look on her grandfather.

"I'm sorry for waking you, Papa. I…saw a coyote out there," she lied. "I didn't want it to get the chickens, so I tried to scare it off."

Ernie looked even more worried now as he hurried to the window. "A coyote?" he asked quickly. "It still out there?"

"No," Maggie said quickly. "It's gone."

Ernie relaxed, and she instantly felt guilty for lying. "Good job scarin' it off…but maybe don't shout like that next time?" he suggested. "Ya nearly gave this old man a heart attack."

Maggie smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"No worries," Ernie said. He patted her on the shoulder, then turned to leave. "Get some sleep, now. It's way past bedtime," he advised.

Maggie nodded. "Alright," she said. "Night, Papa."

"Goodnight," Ernie replied.

He left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him as he went. Once she was alone in her room again, Maggie went back to the window to peer outside intently, frowning as she searched for the man over and over again. But there was nothing to be seen, just the barn where the horses were kept and open land and trees that swayed lazily in the distance with the summertime breeze. There was no sign of the strange man anywhere.

Finally, Maggie closed the window and got into bed. But even after she clicked off the light and settled in to get some rest, it took a long time before sleep claimed her. And when it did, her dreams were of a man in old western clothes, with a cowboy hat on his head and a gun on his hip.

* * *

Come the next morning, Maggie was still feeling more than a little bemused by what had happened the night before.

She had thought about the stranger outside quite a bit, had replayed what had happened in her mind a dozen times over, but she simply still didn't know what to make of the whole thing. She did not know why the man had been there, nor could she understand how he had managed to disappear so quickly. In all honesty, Maggie wasn't even entirely convinced that the person she had seen had even been _real_. The fact of the matter was that living, breathing people _didn't_ just disappear into thin air. End of story.

That was why, after some _serious_ deliberation, Maggie started to wonder if maybe she had seen a _ghost_.

She would be the first to admit that she didn't really believe in all that paranormal mumbo-jumbo, but it was the only thing she had thought of so far that at least _somewhat_ made sense. It would certainly explain the man's outdated attire, his lack of response, and his David Copperfield style vanishing act. The possibility of a ghost haunting her grandfather's property, however, didn't really make her feel any better about the situation. After a lifetime of thinking that ghosts weren't real, the possibility that she might have seen one hanging around in the yard had left her feeling sufficiently creeped out. She didn't know why one would have suddenly decided to show up, but she sincerely hoped she wouldn't see it again.

Ernie was still in his bedroom when she ventured downstairs to the kitchen, so she decided to get started on breakfast for them. She clicked on the radio to get some music playing, put on a pot of coffee, then starting preparing their breakfast of oatmeal, wheat toast with almond butter, and fruit. By the time she finished cooking, had everything on a plate, and had moved their food to the table, Ernie walked in, still wearing some comfy house clothes and sporting some morning-time stubble on his face.

"Good morning, Papa," she greeted with a smile.

"Mornin', Magpie," he said back tiredly.

Maggie's smile fell at the weariness in his voice. "You feeling alright?" she asked with concern.

Ernie nodded and waved hand. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just didn't sleep all too well once I went back 'ta bed last night," he said, making a beeline for the coffee pot.

Maggie frowned with guilt, since it had been her shouting that had woken him in the first place. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been shouting like a banshee last night. That's my fault."

Ernie gave her a small smile. "It ain't _no one's _fault. And it ain't anything a good cup of coffee won't fix," he assured.

Maggie still felt bad, though. "We don't have to go riding if you don't want to," she offered, not wanting him to push himself if he wasn't really feeling up for it. "We can save it for my next visit."

Ernie immediately shook his head. "No, no. I want to go," he insisted. "Once I get some food and coffee in me, I'll be right as rain."

"Okay, then," Maggie finally conceded.

They finished breakfast soon enough, and this time Maggie begrudgingly allowed him to help her clean up the kitchen. When that was done, Ernie headed back upstairs to start getting himself ready for the day, while Maggie slid on her boots, fixed a baseball cap on her head, and went outside to get the horses ready for their ride.

She had just stepped outside and was making her way across the yard, sights set on the barn, when a truck pulled into the drive and honked twice. Maggie turned at the sound, then smiled when she saw that it was Wyatt, the farmhand that had been working on her grandfather's ranch for as long as she could remember. He was a close friend of the family and someone she had always adored because of his friendly demeanor and overall jovialness.

She quickly changed directions and headed for Wyatt's truck instead. "Maggie Beckett!" he called as he got out of his pickup and came to meet her in the yard. "Ain't _you_ a sight for sore eyes?!"

"Right back at you, Wyatt!" she said with a grin.

When she reached him, they embraced tightly. He was a big fellow in his fifties, standing well over six feet and broader than a barn, and though he was more fat than muscle, he was still _very_ strong. The enthusiastic hug he gave her was perhaps a little _too_ hard, which had her huffing out a breath as he, _literally_, squeezed the air from her lungs.

"It's been _way_ too long," Wyatt said as he released her. "How the heck have ya been?"

"Good. _Busy_," Maggie answered with a nod. "How about yourself?"

Wyatt waved a hand. "Ah, same stuff different day more or less. Can't complain too much, though."

Maggie smiled. "The family's doing well?" she asked.

Wyatt nodded. "Wife's good. Kids are good. Dogs are good," he told her. "Believe it or not, my oldest just graduated high school. Gonna be goin' off to college here at the end of summer," he then revealed with a grin.

Maggie blinked in surprise. "Seriously?" When Wyatt just nodded in confirmation, Maggie let out a low whistle. "Oh my lord. I can still remember when he was just a little kid playing in Papa's barn," she said with a smile.

Wyatt nodded, his smile a bit wistful. "Now he's all grown up an' fleeing the coup," he said. "Amazing how fast time flies, ain't it?"

"You can say _that_ again," Maggie agreed. She had always heard that the older one got, the quicker time passed. And boy was it _true_.

"If you an' Ern ain't busy tonight, y'all should come on by the house for dinner," Wyatt invited. "The kids have always looked up to ya and I know the missus would love to see you. Whaddya say?"

Maggie nodded without hesitation. "That sounds really nice. I'd love to catch up with the family, and you know I'd _never _say no to Jo's cooking. Count us in."

Wyatt looked pleased that she had accepted. "Great. I'll ring Jo here in a bit and let her know y'all are comin'." He then paused to glance around searchingly. "Speakin' of your Papa, where is old Ern, anyway?" he asked.

"Just getting himself ready for the day," Maggie answered. Wyatt made a sound of understanding. "We're gonna take the horses out for a ride. I was just heading to the barn to get them ready. Wanna join me?" she asked.

"I'd love to," Wyatt said with a smile.

They continued onto the barn walking side-by-side, chatting casually as they went. When they entered the barn, Maggie's nose was hit with the scent of horses and hay. She went to the first stall on the left, where her grandfather's horse Duke was kept. Duke – named as such in honor of John Wayne – was a handsome Cleveland Bay that her grandfather had owned for several years. Being very familiar with her, he trotted up to the entrance of the stall and leaned into her palm when she reached up to pat his thick, muscled neck. Maggie pet him a few seconds longer, rubbing his jowls and scratching behind his ears, before moving on to the next stall.

Jolene was the new mare, an American Quarter Horse. Tall and lean, she had been named Jolene because of her reddish coat. It took a few encouraging clicks of her tongue and a couple of soothing words, but eventually Jolene came up to Maggie and allowed her to sneak in a few pets. She really _was_ a beautiful horse, and wicked fast, too, according to Ernie. Maggie was excited to see for herself just how fast Jolene could go.

Maggie and Wyatt went to collect two saddles from the saddle rack and then went into the stalls to start fixing them onto the horses. Jolene seemed a little antsy at first, simply because she was still adjusting to her new surroundings and because she didn't really know Maggie yet, but encouraging words and affectionate pats seemed to help the horse relax enough to where she was finally able to get the saddle on her.

"So how much longer you stickin' around for?" Wyatt asked conversationally from the next stall over.

"Just until today, unfortunately. I've got work tomorrow, so I gotta head back to my neck of the woods tonight," Maggie answered.

Wyatt made a sound of disappointment. "That's unfortunate. I was hopin' you'd stay longer. Sure Ern was hopin' so, too," he said.

Maggie frowned, trying not to feel bad for only staying such a short amount of time. She knew her grandfather loved having her home, and she knew that if he could have it his way that she would stay for much longer than just a few days. But work at the hospital was busy, and she had to be mindful of the days she took off so that she could save her vacation time for the _really _important events, like birthdays and holidays. As much as she wanted to do it, taking long weekends off on a regular basis just wasn't really an option.

"I know. I wish I _could_ stay," Maggie said with a sigh. "It's hard with work, though."

"You could always relocate," Wyatt suggested, turning to peer at her over his shoulder. "You could always come home, work at the local clinic. Dr. Richards would take ya on without question," he said with a confident nod.

Maggie smiled a bit. As much as she loved coming home to visit, she had wanted to get out of her hometown for a reason. It was a small place, the sort of town where everybody knew _everybody_ and where gossip traveled quicker than a hot knife through butter. It had been a great place to grow up, but she had yearned for life in a bigger town, where things were a bit more exciting and where she could live life the way she wanted _without_ an entire town being involved in it.

"I'm happy where I am, Wyatt," she said gently. "I'd only come back to live here if Papa's health took a turn for the worst and he _really_ needed me. Until then, the city life suits me just fine."

Wyatt made a sound of understanding, but still shrugged a shoulder. "I just know Ern misses ya, is all," he said. "I think he gets lonely up in that house by himself."

Again, Maggie felt guilt settle in her belly at those words. She didn't necessarily like her grandfather being alone in the house either, but he was a grown man perfectly capable of making his own decisions, and he had already made it abundantly clear to her that he had no intentions of ever leaving. "I told him he could always come and live with me in the city," she said matter-of-factly. "I'd be happy to have him."

Wyatt snorted, then laughed. "Ern? Live in the big city?" he asked incredulously. "Now I'd pay _big_ money 'ta see that."

Maggie just laughed with him.

When they had finished saddling the horses, they led them out of the stalls and out into the yard. While the horses started to graze about lazily, Maggie readjusted the baseball cap on her head and glanced up at the sun, which already felt unmercifully hot despite it not even being close to noon yet. It had felt alright the day before, but it was going to be a scorcher today. She could tell that already.

Maggie shifted on her feet, watching the horses trot around the open yard for a moment, until suddenly it dawned on her that they were almost in the exact same spot that she had seen the ghost standing the previous night. The realization made her shoulders stiffen a little and she frowned to herself, finding herself taken back to the weird incident as her mind flooded with all the burning questions she had managed to suppress since waking up that morning.

An elbow nudging her side made her blink and swing her gaze over to Wyatt, who was looking down at her with a curious expression. "You look like ya got somethin' on your mind," he commented. "What'cha thinkin' so hard about?"

Maggie wasn't sure whether or not she should tell Wyatt what she had seen. She had not wanted to tell Ernie because she had been fairly certain he wouldn't have believed her – he definitely didn't believe in ghosts and likely would have just told her she was sleep deprived or stressed out from work. But Wyatt was a little more open minded, and she could remember him telling her ghost stories he had claimed were real back when she had been a kid. She didn't know if actually _did_ believe in ghosts or if that had all been for show, but if he _did_ believe, then maybe he had experienced something on the ranch in the many years he had been working there.

Maggie decided to tell him about what she had seen.

"How long have you been helping Papa out on the ranch for?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wyatt took a moment to think about it, scratching his chin as he turned his eyes up to the sky and did the math in his head. "Lord, probably…thirty years now?" he estimated. "Why ya ask?"

Maggie furrowed her brows together questioningly. "Have you ever…_seen_ anything on the property?"

Wyatt cocked an eyebrow, his expression a bit uncertain. "What'cha mean? Like critters an' stuff?"

Maggie shook her head. "No. Like…_ghosts_ and stuff," she clarified.

Wyatt looked surprised now. "_Ghosts_?" he repeated. "What kinda _ghosts_?"

"Like an old west cowboy with spurs on his boots and a gun on his hip," Maggie said.

Wyatt frowned. "Ain't never seen anything like that," he said with a shake of his head. "Why? Did _you_?"

Maggie nodded slowly. "Last night. Standing right where the horses are," she said, jutting her chin in that direction. "Now don't get me wrong. I'm _not_ the kind of person to believe in the _paranormal_ or anything like that," she quickly proclaimed. "But last night I looked out my window, and he was standing there just _staring_ at me. Didn't do anything when I yelled at him, didn't even flinch. I thought he was an intruder, so I turned away for one second to grab my phone to call the cops. Next thing I knew, he was just…_gone_."

Wyatt hummed thoughtfully at the story. "That certainly sounds strange, don't it?" he mused aloud. "Ya sure it wasn't someone from town messin' with ya?" he offered up as an explanation. "Ern's told everyone you were visitin' this weekend. Maybe it was them Crenshaw boys lookin' 'ta stir the hornet's nest."

Maggie shook her head. She knew who the Crenshaw boys were, and the man she had seen had definitely _not_ been them. "I would've recognized him if it was someone from town. And I can't imagine it's just some random person from somewhere else, not with how secluded the ranch is."

"True," Wyatt agreed with a small nod. "I s'pose it _could_ be possible," he continued, still looking pensive. "This property's old. Been around since what? Late eighteen hundreds or somethin'? Maybe somethin' happened here once," he guessed with a shrug.

"Maybe," Maggie said with a nod.

"This the first time ya seen it?" Wyatt asked.

"Mhmm," Maggie hummed in confirmation. "And _that's_ weird, too. Why, after all these years, would a ghost decide to show up _now_?" she questioned.

Wyatt shrugged, then looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Maybe it's a _sign_ or somethin'," he guessed, his tone taking on a slightly more dramatic note. "You know, like how Scrooge saw the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future? Maybe it's tryin' to _tell_ ya somethin'."

It was hard to tell if he was making fun of her not. "Like what?" she asked unsurely.

Wyatt thought about it, then smirked at her. "Like maybe some handsome cowboy's gonna sweep ya off your feet," he said.

Now she _knew_ he was making fun of her. Maggie huffed and backhanded him lightly on the shoulder, which made him chuckle. "I'm being _serious_, Wyatt."

"So am I!" he insisted.

"You're teasing me, just like you always do," she accused, which made him laugh again. His reaction made her cross her arms again and jut her chin up stubbornly. "Laugh all you want, but I _know_ what I saw. And what I saw _really_ creeped me out. There's enough to deal with in everyday life. The last thing I need as a damned _ghost_ following me around."

Wyatt finally pulled himself together to pat her on the back. "Sorry for jerkin' your chain," he apologized. "I'd try not 'ta worry about it if I was you. It was prob'ly nothin'," he said. "Besides," he added. "If you _did_ see a ghost, at least ya saw it here an' not back at your own place. Any ghosts decidin' to haunt this place will be Ern's problem, not yours."

Maggie gave him a flat look. "Papa's problems _are_ my problems," she reminded him. It was around that time that she realized that she had been outside for a while and that it was taking her grandfather longer than usual to get himself ready. "Where _is_ he?" she wondered aloud. "He should've been out here by now."

"Maybe he got stuck on the can," Wyatt offered.

Maggie pressed her lips together and looked at the house. She couldn't put her finger on why, but she suddenly had the strong feeling that she should go inside and check on him. "Can you watch the horses?" she asked Wyatt. "I'm gonna go see what Papa's doing."

After Wyatt assured her that he wouldn't let the horses run off, she headed back toward the house. It was quiet when she stepped through the front door, with no signs of activity anywhere on the first floor. Maggie went to the bottom of the stairs and peered up, listening out for any sounds coming from her grandfather's bedroom. She thought she could hear running water coming from his bathroom, but that was it.

"Papa?" she called up the stairs. "What's taking so long? You fall in the toilet or something?"

When there was no answer, Maggie began to walk up to the second floor, the wooden stairs creaking underneath her boot as she went. Her grandfather's bedroom was at the end of the hall and the door was open, which made it easier to hear the sounds of running water coming from his bathroom. There was no sound of any other movement, however, which made her frown a bit as she made her way down the hall.

"Papa?" she called again.

She finally reached his room and walked inside without bothering to knock. The sight that she was met with immediately made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach and her blood run cold.

Ernie was lying face down on the floor in the doorway of his bathroom.

"_Papa_!" she yelled with alarm.

Maggie rushed to his side and immediately turned him over, panic sweeping through her again when she realized that he was not only unconscious, but also not _breathing_. She pressed her fingers to his neck to search for a pulse, didn't find one, then felt another wave of panic. Instinct then kicked in, and she immediately turned him on his back to start performing CPR.

"_Wyatt_!" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping the man would hear her from outside. _"WYATT!"_

She had just completed thirty seconds of chest compressions and leaned over to blow air into Ernie mouth when she heard the front door bang open downstairs. Thunderous footsteps hurried up the stairs and down the hall, then a worried and red faced Wyatt appeared in the doorway. As soon as he saw what was going on, he rushed over with a curse.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded.

The answer came to her quickly. "I think he's gone into cardiac arrest," she said in a rush, still performing chest compressions. "Call an ambulance!" she demanded, before looking down at her grandfather. "Come on, Papa! _Breathe!"_ she pleaded desperately.

_Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty_, she counted in her head, before leaning over to breathe air into his lungs again. Vaguely she was aware of Wyatt pacing the room and talking urgently on the phone, but she barely paid him any attention as she focused on trying to make her grandfather breathe again. Her eyes began to blur with tears as she worked, pleading words tumbling from her lips as the minutes ticked by in a panicked blur. He had to breathe. He couldn't die. He _couldn't_.

Finally, just as she was beginning to fear she had gotten to him too late, Ernie jerked and sucked in a ragged breath. Relief flooded through her, making the tears in her eyes spill over onto her cheeks. Her grandfather's eyes found hers for a moment, wide and confused as he gaped like a fish out of water, then they slid closed and his body went limp again. Maggie immediately pressed two fingers to his neck – there was a pulse, but it was weak.

"Ambulance can't get here for another half hour," Wyatt said, snapping her out of it.

"Half an hour?!" Maggie repeated incredulously. _Goddamned small towns. _Why did they have to be so far away from_ everything_? "We can't afford to wait that long. Can you get him there sooner?"

Wyatt looked at Ernie, then nodded firmly. "I'll drive like the hounds of hell are chasin' me," he said with determination.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Wyatt didn't need to be told twice. He went over to Ernie, leaned over, then scooped the man up in his strong arms as if he weighed nothing at all. Wyatt then strode out of the bedroom with purposeful steps, stomping loudly down the stairs as he headed for the front door. Maggie followed hot on his heels, heart pounding with fear in her chest, cheeks still wet with tears. She barely remembered to grab her purse from the table in the foyer and shut the door behind her as they left.

It was weird, being in a different hospital and watching other nurses tend to her grandfather. It was even weirder being on the _other_ side of things. She was so used to being the one in the scrubs checking over vitals and making notes on clipboards – she was _not_ used to being the worried family member, sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a tiny, cramped hospital room, unable to do much of anything but just wait and hope and _pray _that things would get better.

Maggie sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, one elbow resting on the back of the chair and her head leaning heavily on her palm. It had been more than a few hours since she and Wyatt had rushed Ernie to the nearest hospital. He had started off in the ER but had since been moved to ICU, and though he seemed fairly stable now, he had yet to regain consciousness. She stared at the machines her grandfather was hooked up to, watching the numbers closely for any changes. As accustomed as she was to being around equipment like this, as unaffected as she usually was by the beeps and the noises they made, now that those machines were hooked up to someone she _loved_, they seemed so much more intimidating.

Maggie blinked and looked away from the machines when the nurse walked in to do another quick check. The nurse made eye contact with her, gave her a brief smile, then focused her attention back on Ernie. After that the nurse left, and then it was just Maggie and Ernie alone again.

It had been _extremely_ difficult to hamper down the urge to jump in and help when they had first brought Ernie in – she had dealt with this sort of thing before and had wanted to make sure that the staff knew exactly what needed to be done. It hadn't helped that she had been scared half to death about what had happened and had been on the verge of having a meltdown by the time they had finally gotten him into the ER, which had resulted in her being more aggressive than usual. As levelheaded as she was at work, when it came to someone she _cared for_, that wasn't exactly the case.

Hysterical and determined to help, Wyatt had had to hold her back and firmly remind her that her grandfather was in capable, competent hands. The best way for her to help, he had said, was for her to stay out of the way and let the medical staff do their jobs. So she had done that, and thankfully, the staff had done a spectacular job. Ernie wasn't quite out of the woods yet, but he was doing a hell of a lot better than he had been when she had found him, and that was a step in the right direction.

With a sigh, Maggie let her feet slip back down onto the floor and leaned forward to grab her grandfather's wrinkly hand, holding it tightly and letting her thumb run across his knuckles. She felt the metal of his wedding band, which he had never taken off despite all the years since Susan MacManus had passed on. She let her thumb linger on the ring, her lips pulling down even further as she began to think about her grandmother and the many times Maggie had found herself sitting beside her hospital bed when she had been sick. Her grandmother had always seemed so small and frail in those hospital beds. Looking up at Ernie now, he looked just as frail as Susan had, and that only scared Maggie even _more_.

There was a loud voice out in the hall in the next moment, which made Maggie look to the door. "I'm looking for _Ernie MacManus_!" a woman demanded. "Can't you just _tell me where he is_?"

Maggie knew that voice. She released Ernie and surged to her feet, then hurried to the door. Just down the hall, standing by the nurse's station, were Elena and Jack, both still wearing attire far more suitable for being on the river than for being in a hospital. Elena was wild eyed and looked on the verge of throttling someone if she didn't get the information she wanted, while Jack lingered behind her, looking unsure whether or not he should interfere before Elena got them kicked out. Suddenly he looked over and saw her, then caught Elena's attention and pointed in her direction. As soon as Elena spotted her, she let out a sound of relief and rushed over, ignoring the nurses that protested as she nearly bowled over a few of them.

Elena crushed Maggie in a hug the moment she reached her, which just made Maggie feel emotional again. She clung to her best friend tightly, inhaling the scent of river water and tanning lotion as she laid her head on Elena's shoulder, her own shoulders shaking as she began to cry again. She was so scared for her grandfather, but _so relieved_ that Elena was there.

"Oh, Mags!" Elena said, hugging her even tighter. She finally pulled away and braced her hands on Maggie's shoulders. "How's he doing?"

Maggie shrugged and nodded. "He's…okay. He's _stable_, at least. But he hasn't woken up yet and we aren't sure what kind of long term damage we're looking at yet," she explained. "We're just…playing the waiting game right now." Maggie then gave her a watery, half-hearted smile. "Thanks for coming."

Elena wiped at some of the tears on Maggie's cheeks and gave her a smile. "Of _course_ we came. I'm just sorry we couldn't get here sooner."

Maggie shook her head. "You're here _now_. That's all that matters."

She and Elena hugged again, until Maggie finally looked at Jack over her shoulder. He had been lingering a foot or so away from them so as not to interrupt, but smiled when their eyes met. When Elena released her, Jack moved forward to hug her next.

"I'm sorry, Mags," he said, patting her back comfortingly. "Is there anything we can do? Anything you need?"

Maggie shook her head as they released one another. "Not much _to_ do, I'm afraid. But I certainly wouldn't mind some company in there," she said, jerking her head toward Ernie's room. "Wyatt headed back to the ranch an hour ago to make sure the horses didn't run off. I've been going a little crazy sitting in there by myself."

Jack and Elena both immediately nodded. "Absolutely," Jack readily agreed. "We'll stay as long as you need us."

Waiting around was a little more tolerable once she had her friends around to keep her distracted. She first brought them up to speed about everything that had happened, from finding Ernie in his room to performing CPR to Wyatt breaking about a dozen traffic laws to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. They asked a few more questions about what had been done for Ernie since he had been admitted, but after that Maggie was desperate to change the subject. She got them talking about their trip to the river, which they had cut short in order to come to the hospital after she had called Elena to tell her what had happened. Maggie apologized over and over again for interrupting their weekend getaway, but after Elena bluntly told her to shut up and insisted that being with _her_ was more important, Maggie finally let it go.

A few more hours passed before she even knew it. Nurses came and went every so often, the doctor popped in once, and the general activity outside their room stayed consistently busy. It wasn't until she was in the middle of watching some random show on the old, crappy television in the room that her stomach growled, reminding Maggie that she hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning. Elena heard it, of course, and looked at her with hawk-like scrutiny.

"How long has it been since you ate?" she demanded.

Maggie shrugged. "Not since this morning."

Elena frowned, then stood from her chair and motioned to the door. "Come on, then. Let's go," she all but ordered.

Maggie's brows pinched together. "Go where?"

"To get you some _food_," Elena said with a heave. When Maggie started to protest and say that she didn't really have much of an appetite, Elena cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look. "You need to eat, Maggie. Starving yourself won't do you any good. Besides, Ernie would kick your ass from here to Kingdom come if he knew you were skipping meals. Now get up and let's _go_."

Maggie looked at Elena, who seemed as though she didn't intend to take _no_ for an answer, then looked at Ernie, who looked exactly as he had for the past however many hours they had been there. "I don't feel right leaving him alone," she said with a shake of her head.

"We won't be gone for long, I promise," Elena said.

"And I'm happy to stay here and keep an eye on him," Jack contributed. "I'm sure he won't wanna see _my_ face first if he wakes up, but at least he won't be alone," Jack added with a shrug and a small smile.

Maggie glanced back and forth between the two, before finally sighing. "Alright," she conceded. "But let's make it quick."

Elena nodded in agreement, then, after the woman gave Jack a quick kiss, they left the ICU. They went down to the first floor and located a small cafeteria, which didn't have much to offer except some vending machines, different stations filled with food that looked like it had been heated up in a microwave, and a small Subway. They went to Subway, which seemed to be the most popular choice, and got in line behind about a half dozen people.

Maggie stared at the menu, her expression blank and her arms crossed tightly over her chest, until Elena rubbed a hand over her back. When Maggie looked over at her friend, the woman was eyeing her with concern.

"How you holding up?" Elena asked.

Maggie shrugged a shoulder. "Tired. Stressed. Drained," she admitted, seeing no reason to sugarcoat it.

Elena nodded sympathetically. "Did you call the hospital to tell them what happened?"

Maggie nodded in confirmation. "I took the rest of the week off, but warned them I might be gone longer depending on how things go. They understood why I needed to stay," she concluded.

"That's good," Elena said. Their conversation paused for a second as they moved forward in line a few feet, then Elena nodded as if coming to a decision of some kind. "I'll call my boss when we're done here, tell him there was a family emergency and that I need the week off."

Maggie looked at her in surprise. She had not expected Elena to stay with her, seeing as she had her own obligations back home to tend to. "But, El…your job – "

"Will still be there when I get back," Elena interjected. She gave Maggie a look. "If you think I'm leaving you to deal with this on your own, you're out of your mind. I'm _staying_. And that's _that_," she said with authority.

Maggie smiled and reached for her hand to give it a squeeze, feeling a rush of affection for her best friend. "You're the best. You know that?"

Elena smirked and squeezed her hand back. "Of _course_ I do," she shot back, which finally pulled a brief chuckle from Maggie.

They finally stepped up to order their sandwiches, then grabbed a drink from the soda machine and headed back toward the elevators. Once they were inside and the doors slid shut, Maggie leaned back against the cool, metal wall and let out a long, weary sigh, raising one hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions, and it was starting to give her a headache. Maggie dropped her hand from her face to watch the floor numbers change as the elevator climbed upward, already dreading having to see her grandfather looking so helpless and weak in that hospital bed again.

"I'm _scared_, El," she said quietly, which made Elena look over at her. "What if…what if Papa doesn't pull through this?"

"Hey, don't think like that," Elena said, reaching out to rub her shoulder. "Ernie's a strong guy. And he's _way_ too stubborn to let something like this keep him down. He'll pull through, Mags. I know it," she said with an encouraging nod.

Maggie, however, shook her head. There was something that had been nagging at her this whole time, something she needed to get off her chest before the guilt swallowed her whole. "I feel like this is _my_ fault," she admitted quietly.

"How could this possibly be _your_ fault?" Elena asked with a frown.

"He seemed _off_ this weekend. He damn near almost fell over in the kitchen because he was dizzy last night, then he came down to breakfast this morning looking like shit. I should have seen the _signs_. I should have known something was _wrong_," she said with self-loathing. "Maybe if I had, he wouldn't be in that damn hospital bed right now."

Elena turned to her and gave her a stern look. "Maggie, this is _not_ your fault. Hell, he wouldn't even _be here _if you hadn't resuscitated him! You _saved_ him, Mags. Don't you realize that?"

That wasn't enough to make Maggie feel better about the situation. "I still should've known that something wasn't right. It's my _job _to notice when something is wrong!" Maggie insisted.

"And you know better than anyone that sometimes shit like this just _happens_," Elena rebutted. "It's awful what happened, but you can't blame yourself for something that was beyond your control. Your grandpa wouldn't want you doing that to yourself."

Maggie looked at Elena for a moment, then closed her eyes and let her head thump back against the elevator wall. "I just…_can't_ lose him, Elena," she said, her voice going thick with emotion. "I'm so fucking scared. I don't…I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't beat this."

Elena wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled Maggie closer for sideways hug. "I know you are," she said with a sigh. "But you're not alone in this, okay? Whatever happens, be it good _or_ bad, I'll be right there beside you. I promise."

Maggie didn't say anything, just nodded and leaned heavily into Elena's embrace.

They finally pulled away from one another when the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a _ding_. They headed down the hall back toward the ICU, and with a small, comforting smile, Elena opened the door and ushered her through first. Maggie's phone started to ring in her pocket as they reentered, but before she could think to answer it, she and Elena both became distracted when they noticed a flurry activity down at the end of the hall.

"_CODE BLUE. ROOM NUMBER THREE. CODE BLUE. ROOM NUMBER THREE,_" a voice announced overhead.

Maggie swore her heart stopped beating for a second. Because room number three was the room her _grandfather_ was in. And she knew very well what a _code blue_ meant. That was the call for a resuscitation team, which meant that something had gone very, _very_ wrong.

Maggie took off without a second thought, pushing her way past nurses and random people to get to her grandfather's room. As she skidded to a halt just inside the doorway, she saw that Ernie was limp as a rag doll in bed while a nurse was performing CPR and another one held an oxygen mask hooked up to a ventilator over his nose and mouth to try to keep oxygen flowing to his brain. The heart monitor that was hooked up to him had stopped beeping and was instead one long, steady tone. He had flat lined.

"Papa_!_ _Papa!_"

She tried to rush to the bed, but Jack intercepted her and held her back. Maggie struggled against him, but he was stronger and bigger and kept her right where she was so that the nurses could work. The doctor and the resuscitation team arrived a second later, wheeling in a crash cart and hurrying to Ernie's bed. Maggie watched helplessly, heart pounding fearfully in her ribs, as the doctor quickly took the place of the nurse performing CPR and started trying everything possible to get Ernie's heart going again.

"Come on, Papa!" Maggie cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks as the seconds continue to tick by and that damn heart monitor refused to start beeping again. "_Come on!"_

After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally seemed to realize that nothing he was doing was working and turned to one of the nurses by the crash cart. "Get that defibrillator powered up!" he ordered.

The nurse did as she was instructed, then wheeled the defibrillator closer. The doctor took hold the paddles, rubbed them together, then pressed them to Ernie's chest.

"Clear!"

Ernie's back bowed slightly as an electrical charge was sent through his chest. There was a spike on the heart monitor, but after that it returned to a flat line. The doctor did it again, then again, and _again_, but that long, monotone beep always came back. Maggie shook on the spot, only vaguely aware that Jack was still holding her back and that Elena was latched onto her arm, her eyes frantic as she glanced back and forth between her grandfather and the heart monitor. Something _had_ to work. It just _had to_.

But nothing _did_ work, and eventually the doctor took a step back from Ernie's bed, breathing hard and wearing an expression of defeat. He looked at the heart monitor, which continued to mock them with its loud, drawn out beep, then indicated for one of the nurses to turn it off. She flipped off the machine, and the room went deathly silent.

Finally, the doctor looked at Maggie. And as their eyes locked, hers desperate and his full of remorse, she _knew_.

There was nothing else to be done.

Ernie MacManus was dead.

* * *

**I feel like I should take this time to point out that I know very little about horses and about the inner workings of a hospital. I will certainly do my best to keep things as accurate and realistic as possible, though. **

**Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much to all of you who added this story to their alert/favorite list, and thank you to Tactus501st, StrikeKT, alexisg200, and Julia for your reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**Things will really start to kick off in the next chapter. Hope you're as excited as I am!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer****: I own nothing related to Red Dead Redemption 2, only the OC's.**

* * *

_Chapter Two_

* * *

_Fuck_, she hated funerals.

As Maggie stood in front of the full length mirror in her childhood bedroom, she smoothed her hands over the skirt of the modest, black dress that she had found shoved into the back of her closet. Once she was convinced that there were no wrinkles that needed to be ironed out, her eyes traveled up the length of the mirror until she met her own gaze in the reflection. Maggie frowned at the sight she presented – dark bags beneath her eyes, paler than usual skin, stress lines in her forehead that she was certain were on the verge of becoming permanent. Even with the makeup she had put on and her futile attempt to make her hair look decent, Maggie _still_ thought she looked like a zombie.

It had been exactly four, horrible days since she had watched her grandfather take his final breath, and she felt she could honestly say that they had been some of the worst days of her life. As old as her grandfather had been, she had never really allowed herself to imagine what life might be like without him. Having lost so many people she loved in her lifetime, she had clung to Ernie as fiercely as possible, convincing herself that _she _would keep him healthy and that _she_ would make sure he was one of the one's that lived into his hundreds. She had preferred to believe that he was invincible, that he would always be there, no matter what.

But that wasn't true, and honestly, she of _all_ people should have known better.

There was really no describing the pain that had come with losing Ernie. He had been the last family member she had left, the person she had loved _most_ in the entire world. It had been just the two of them these past ten years, and now that he was gone, she felt…_lost_. There would be no more dancing in the kitchen while they sang Elvis Presley songs. No more late nights watching John Wayne movies. No more working on the ranch together until their backs hurt. No more laughing over meals at the diner. No more birthdays to celebrate or Christmases to enjoy. No more. It was all gone, because _he _was gone.

And Maggie had never felt so alone in her entire life.

There had been a lot to take care of in the wake of his death, seeing as she was Ernie MacManus's only living relative, and, therefore, had been the one left to settle all of his affairs. She had met with lawyers and bankers and had to pay multiple trips to the funeral home to make sure everything was taken care of. It had been hard to keep her head on straight with her own grief determined to consume her, but Maggie had, by some miracle, managed to hold it together enough to see to all of the business that needed to be tended to.

Now, the day of his funeral was upon her, and she had been absolutely _dreading it._ Having attended far too many funerals for people that she loved already, she _despised_ them by now. She did not want to go and be stuck with a bunch of crying people, did not want to see the looks of pity she would receive, did not want to hear everyone tell her how sorry they were or how great her grandfather had been. She already _knew_ how great Ernie had been, thank you very much, and all she wanted was to be left _alone_ to deal with her grief in peace and quiet.

But that wasn't allowed. Ernie had been a man with many friends, who had all insisted on smothering her these past four days. Maggie had lost count of how many times someone had shown up on her doorstep uninvited, bringing with them casseroles and condolences and insisting on trying to get her to talk about how she was _feeling_. It was ungrateful of her to complain about the support that the people of her hometown had been showing her – she knew that her grandfather's friends meant well, and that they were only trying to help. But it was all just getting to be _too much_.

Maybe the funeral would be a _good_ thing, she tried to convince herself. Maybe once Ernie had been buried, maybe once all of this was over, people would finally leave her _alone_. Maybe then she would finally get the peace and quiet she had been desperately needing to mourn her grandfather's passing _properly_.

A knock on the bedroom door drew her attention. She turned just as Elena opened the door, a small smile tugging at her friend's lips as she caught sight of Maggie.

"You look nice, Mags," she said, stepping further into the room.

Maggie sighed and looked at herself in the mirror again. "I look like I've aged ten years."

Elena appeared in the mirror next to her. Maggie felt and saw the arm that her friend slid around her shoulders, before Elena hugged her into her side. "You're stressed. It's understandable," she said with a nod. "But all of this is almost over. Then you can finally get some _rest_."

Maggie mustered a smile at Elena's understanding words, then leaned into the comforting embrace that she was offering.

Elena had been a _Godsend_ these past few days. She had taken off from work and had been staying with her in the ranch house, helping her organize the funeral, making sure she was eating and taking care of herself, being there for a shoulder to cry on whenever she needed it, but also giving her space whenever she needed _that_, too. If not for her, Maggie was _positive_ she would have lost her mind by now. And as they stood there together, she realized something – she _wasn't_ alone. Ernie was gone, yes, but as long as she had Elena, she would _never_ be truly alone.

"Thank you, El," Maggie said. "You've been my lifeline these past few days, you know?"

Elena smiled gently. "No need to thank me. This is what family does for each other."

Maggie managed a wisp of a smile, which was the closest she'd come to smiling in days. "Still…thank you."

Elena finally nodded. "You're welcome." They stood there for another moment, then Elena patted her shoulder. "We should get going. You ready?"

Maggie looked at herself once more. The funeral was going to happen whether she was ready for it or not, so there was no use delaying the inevitable. "Ready," she confirmed.

They went downstairs, where Jack was waiting. He was dressed in a nice, dark suit and gave an encouraging smile when he saw her. Together they headed outside and got into Jack's car, then they were off to the church that the service was going to be held at. Much too soon, they arrived, and as Jack pulled into a parking spot and Maggie was able to see just how many people were filing into the church, she gulped.

"There's so many people," she muttered.

"Ernie had a lot of friends," Elena reminded her.

Maggie nodded absentmindedly. She was suddenly afraid to get out of the car, but knew she didn't have much say in the matter. After Elena and Jack got out, she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep, steadying breath. Finally, she opened the car door and got out.

Elena was by her side in the blink of an eye, looping an arm through hers and offering up her silent support. As the three of them went into the church, Maggie's eyes widened. There were even _more_ people inside, so many that almost every pew was completely filled. It looked as though the entire town had come for the service, and to know that so many people had cared about her grandfather was enough to have her fighting down a surge of emotion.

She made her way slowly through the church, shaking hands and forcing on grateful smiles for those she didn't know as well, but stopping to hug those she was closer to. Eventually she reached the front of the church, where her grandfather lay in his casket flanked by large flower arrangements of multiple colors on either side. Maggie clutched Elena's hand tighter as they stepped up to the casket, and as soon as she saw Ernie there, dressed in his finest suit, somehow looking like himself and yet so _unlike_ himself at the same time, it felt like someone had grabbed her heart and squeezed it with all their might.

She had been _sure_ she didn't have anymore tears left to cry.

She had been wrong.

Maggie leaned against Elena, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Elena held her tighter, moving one hand to rub her back, sniffling quietly as she grieved herself. Nobody approached them and stayed a respectable distance away, and for that Maggie was grateful.

Maggie didn't know how long she stood there for, but eventually it was time to get the service underway. Elena guided her to sit on a hard, squeaky pew in the front row, and as the town preacher moved to the altar to speak, the rest of the attendees found their chairs as well. There had been somber music playing while the attendees arrived, but as the preacher opened his bible, the music cut out.

"Thank you, friends, for gathering here today as we say goodbye a most beloved individual," he started. "It a sad day indeed, whenever we say goodbye to one of our own. But I think I speak for everyone when I say that it brings great comfort to know that we have each other to lean on for support in these somber times."

From there, the preacher launched into the usual funeral proceedings. He recited bible verses and led them in a few prayers. He spoke fondly of her grandfather, recounting heartwarming memories that people had shared with him and telling of all the good things he had done to contribute to both his family and the community. Maggie only half listened to him as he spoke. It was hard to focus on what he was saying with her grandfather's casket right in front of her. Hard to pay attention as her heart felt closer and closer to shattering with every passing moment. All she could do was stare at the casket, acutely aware of the fact that she would never see Ernie again after today.

But then it was time for Maggie to speak, and as she stood from her seat on shaky legs and made her way up to the altar, she had to suck in a deep breath to try to center herself again. She shared a look with the preacher, who smiled kindly as he moved out of her way, then looked to the sea of mourning people staring back at her as she stepped up to the podium. The sadness in the room was so thick, it was almost suffocating.

She had to clear her throat to be able to talk. "I want to first thank y'all for being here today. I'm happy to know so many care so much for my grandfather, and the outpouring of support that I've felt since he passed has been extraordinary."

Maggie pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it, laying it out flat on the podium. She cleared her throat again and paused to glance down at what she had written. "As I'm sure many of you know, I was raised by my Nana and Papa. After my parents left this earth, they took me in without hesitation and loved me as fiercely as if I had been their own. I couldn't have asked for better people to raise me, and I certainly couldn't have asked for a better grandfather. Ernie MacManus was an extraordinary man. He served honorably in the army for twenty years. He was a dedicated husband for over sixty years. He was an exceptional father to my mother, and to me. He was a hardworking man, the sort of man who would break his back and work his hands to the very bone to provide for his family. And he did all of this with a smile on his face and warmth in his heart, because that's just who my grandfather was. A happy man, leading the exact sort of life that he cherished and loved."

"My grandfather was a rare gem in this world," she continued. "He always went out of his way to help people, whether it was to change a tire for someone, fix a broken sink, or help put food on the table for someone less fortunate. He was the sort of man that would give you the shirt off his own back, no questions asked. He cared about people and always looked for the best in everyone. He was a dedicated member of this community, and he loved everyone in it. You were all his friends. You were all his _family_."

Maggie could hear people sniffling now as she glanced at her paper again. "My grandfather was everything to me," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking now. "Through the good times, through the _worst _times, he was always by my side, supporting me and encouraging me. I can't possibly begin to talk about my fondest memories of him, because there are far too many to count. But know that I will cherish each and every one of those memories, and I will carry them with me for the rest of my life."

She was almost to the end of her speech now. "As hard as it is to say goodbye, that is what we all must do now. But while he may be gone physically, that does not mean he is gone for good. He will always be in my heart, just as I am certain he will be in _your_ hearts as well. But I hope we can all take comfort in the fact that he has moved on to a better place now. He has gone to be with God, where he will live in eternal beauty and happiness with my Nana and my parents by his side." Maggie looked up to the ceiling, rather than to the casket beside her. "I miss you already, Papa, and I will miss you every day. But we _will _see each other again someday. Until then, know that I love you very much, and I always will."

The church went quiet again now that she had finished speaking, save for a few sniffles she could hear from various people in the crowd. Maggie folded her paper back up, smiled sadly at the preacher, then went back down to her seat, where Elena immediately grabbed and squeezed her hand.

"That was nice, Mags," she whispered, her voice thicker than usual with emotion.

Maggie just nodded in response.

The preacher talked for a few minutes longer, and then it was time to transport her grandfather to his final resting place. The casket was closed, and then six pallbearers – Jack and Wyatt were among them – carefully lifted his casket and began to carry it down the aisle. Maggie and Elena followed, and then everyone else shuffled out of the pews to trail after them. The entire congregation walked outside, then followed the pallbearers as they carried the casket to the small cemetery only yards away from the church.

The casket was placed on the machinery that would lower it into the grave. Maggie, only half aware of the people filling in behind her, stared at the casket for another moment, before looking to the familiar headstone marking the grave next to her grandfather's.

_In loving memory,_ _Susan MacManus. 1943 – 2009. _

Though she had visited her grandmother's grave a hundred times before, seeing it now and knowing her grandfather would soon be joining her there had Maggie's heart twisting with grief all over again. She barely noticed when the preacher started speaking again, reciting a few more bible passages and leading them in one last prayer. _At least they're together again_, she told herself. _At least they have each other._

Maggie finally came back to the present when it was time to lower the casket into the grave. Everyone watched, some crying into handkerchiefs, others sniffling loudly as they fought back tears of their own, as she accepted a flower from the preacher and moved forward to place it on top of his casket. With a tight feeling in her chest and tears springing to her eyes yet again, Maggie leaned forward to kiss the casket one last time.

"Goodbye, Papa," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "You'll always be in my heart."

Finally, she stepped back, rejoining Elena and Jack. Then Ernie's casket was slowly lowered into the ground, and, finally, the funeral was over.

* * *

One hour later, Maggie stood in front of the kitchen table, eyeing the dozen or so casseroles that had been brought to the house as the post-funeral gathering commenced. It was damn near enough food to feed a small country, and even though everyone had helped themselves to a plate of food already, there was still a ridiculous amount left over. She certainly hoped people would come back for seconds, because _she_ certainly wouldn't be able to finish all of it off by herself, nor was there enough room in the fridge to store everything.

With a sigh, Maggie grabbed the one casserole dish that had been wiped clean and took it to the sink for washing. As she turned on the water and gave it a moment to warm up, her eyes lifted to the window above the sink, taking in the landscape outside.

The chickens were roaming out by the barn, and the trees were swaying in the distance with the wind. It looked quiet and peaceful outside, which was the exact _opposite_ of what was taking place in her living room. At least thirty people were on the other side of the kitchen door, talking amongst themselves as they ate their lunch and moved around her house. She looked to the barn, where the horses were resting in their stables, and suddenly yearned to jump on the back of one of them and ride away.

_Just keep a brave face on for a little while longer_, she told herself. _It's almost over_.

She started to look back to the sink in front of her, but a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye suddenly caught her attention and made her look to the forest instead. Maggie frowned with uncertainty, her eyes narrowing as she leaned closer to the window, eyeing a certain thicket of trees with scrutiny. What had she just seen? What in the forest could be _blue_?

Unbidden, the image of the ghost cowboy came to mind. _He _had been dressed in blue. Maggie immediately heaved and shook her head, feeling annoyed with herself for her train of thought. She had just buried her grandfather, for Christ's sake. Now wasn't really the time to start thinking about _ghosts_.

The door suddenly opened, bringing with it a blast of noise and chatter from the other room. Maggie glanced over her shoulder to see Wyatt standing there, holding a glass of whiskey in either hand and giving her a knowing look. It was still a surprise to see him dressed in such a nice suit, since she'd never seen him in anything but boots and working clothes.

"Hiding?" he asked.

"No," Maggie immediately denied. When he quirked a brow, she sighed with resignation, knowing he'd caught her in her lie. "I just needed a minute to get away from all the _noise._"

"Understandable," Wyatt said with a nod. He came to stand next to her and offered a glass of whiskey. "Here. You look like ya need this," he said.

Maggie nodded and took the glass. She meant to take only a sip, but ended up tossing back all of it instead. To Wyatt's credit, he didn't even flinch. He just took her empty glass without a word and then passed her the one he had poured for himself instead. She resisted the urge to throw that one back, too.

"How you holdin' up, Maggie?" he asked.

Maggie lifted a shoulder. "I've had better days."

Wyatt nodded in understanding. "Yeah, me too. It's been real strange these past few days, not seein' Ern or havin' him talk my ear off. Gonna take a long time to get used to not havin' him around anymore, I reckon." When Maggie just nodded silently in agreement, Wyatt reached out to place a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You been real strong through all this, Maggie. You're as strong a lady as they come. Ern would be proud of you. Real proud."

Maggie managed a flicker of a smile. "Thanks, Wyatt."

"You're welcome." Wyatt glanced to the door for a moment, then looked at her again, his brows lifting upward. "How long ya plannin' to hide out in here for, anyway?"

Maggie shrugged. "If I had it _my _way, I'd hide until everyone left. Can't do that though, can I?"

Wyatt shook his head. "Fraid not." Maggie sighed with defeat. "It ain't so bad out there," Wyatt said with encouragement. "Why don't you come on back with me an' talk to some people? It might make ya feel better."

Maggie highly doubted it. "Alright," she agreed anyway. She knocked back the rest of the whiskey Wyatt had brought, then set both the empty cups in the sink. "Let's get this over with."

In the end, the mingling wasn't actually that bad. She wandered from person to person, allowing her guests to rope her into conversation and being sure to express her gratitude to everyone who had taken the time to show up that day. There were lots of tears, of course, and more hugs than she could count, but some people were more keen to share _happier_ memories, which she was glad for. Some of the stories she heard were pretty funny and actually made her laugh, which was a miracle in and of itself. She was glad to experience some humor again – it was certainly a welcome break from all the sadness and gloom that had been swamping her since Ernie had passed.

All in all, the lunch went pretty well. She wasn't feeling as suffocated as she had thought she would, and time was actually going by pretty quickly. Before she knew it, it was well into the afternoon and people were slowly starting to filter out. Maggie was finally able to take a break from all the conversing and snuck out on the porch with Elena and Jack to get away for a bit. She was glad when she spied the bottle of whiskey that Jack had brought with him.

"You look drained," Jack commented as Maggie plopped ungracefully into her grandfather's favorite rocking chair.

"I _am _drained," she confirmed. She took the bottle of whiskey he offered and lifted it straight to her lips, taking a few hearty gulps. "Once this is all over with, I think I'm going into hibernation for the rest of the year."

Maggie took one more drink, then passed the bottle over to Elena, who was sitting in the rocking chair next to her. "I don't blame you," she said with sympathy.

Elena took a swig of the drink herself, then handed the bottle to Jack, who was leaning against the porch bannister across from them. "Have you made any decisions about work yet?" he asked.

Maggie really had to hand it to her boss and co-workers – they had been wonderful throughout all of this. Her co-workers had made sure her shifts at the hospital were covered, no questions asked, and her boss had told her to take as much time as she needed. At first, Maggie had thought she would go back right after the funeral. She didn't think that going back to work would make things feel _normal_ again, but she had hoped it would at least distract her from how much her heart was hurting. But now, after having several days to think about it, going to work was the _last_ thing she wanted to do. She had lost the motivation completely, and she was worried that if she went back too soon that she would perform poorly, which wouldn't be fair to any of the patients she would potentially work with.

"I'm gonna take a break for a while," Maggie answered. "I already sent an email to my boss letting her know that I'm taking an extended leave of absence."

Jack made a sound of understanding. "What are you gonna do while you're not working then?"

Maggie glanced around at all the familiar land around them. "Stay here, take care of the animals…just enjoy the quiet life for a while."

Jack smiled and nodded in encouragement. "That sounds like a good plan. We'll miss the hell out of you, but…you gotta do what you gotta do." Then he raised the bottle of whiskey to her and took a long drink.

Their conversation was momentarily interrupted as the front door opened and an older couple stepped out onto the porch. Since it was obvious they were leaving, Maggie stood from her chair and went to say her goodbye's, thanking them profusely for coming to pay their respects and sharing warm hugs with them.

She was so distracted by the departing couple that she didn't really notice the sound of a car parking out on the side of the road just in front of the house. Maggie shared a few last words with the couple, then, as they left, she went to rejoin Jack and Elena. She stopped, however, and frowned with uncertainty when she saw that both were looking to the road with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Guys? What is it?" she asked.

When neither answered her, Maggie finally turned to see what had caught their attention. Upon seeing who was currently making their way up to the house, her jaw dropped and she suddenly felt like someone had ripped her lungs right out of her chest.

It was _Paul._

Maggie blinked once, twice, three times, but the face didn't change. It was definitely him, not just some figment of her imagination. She hadn't seen him in person since their divorce had been finalized, but quickly saw that he hadn't changed a bit. His dark hair was still cut short and neat. His face was as handsome as she remembered, with his straight nose and sharp jawline and high cheekbones. He was tall and well built, which his tailored suit accentuated, and she was almost disappointed to see that he _was_ still in such good shape. She had hoped that having a baby to take care of would have made him at least gain a couple pounds around the middle, but that didn't seem to be case.

The only difference now was that instead of his usual, confident swagger, he looked completely awkward as he approached, perhaps even a touch nervous. Maggie glanced at Elena and Jack, who were still looking at Paul as if seeing a ghost for the first time, before she looked at Paul again. Finally, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest for some semblance of protection, she stepped to the edge of the porch. Paul stopped just before the bottom step. He nodded to Jack and Elena in acknowledgement, then turned his attention back to her. It was only then that she realized he was holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

Maggie didn't know what to say at first, and Paul didn't seem to, either. "Hey, Maggie," he finally said to break the uncomfortable silence.

"What are you doing here, Paul?" she asked tensely.

Paul shifted on his feet. "I heard what happened. I came to pay my respects to Ernie," he answered. "And…I wanted to make sure you were alright."

A feeling of bitterness came on suddenly, flooding through her like a river breaking through a dam. "Since when do you care if I'm alright or not?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Paul looked taken aback at first, then frowned deeply. "Come on, Mags," he said, and the fact that he had used her nickname irked her even more. It felt too personal, too _intimate_. He wasn't allowed to use that name anymore. He'd given up that privilege. "I know we didn't leave things on a great note, but that doesn't change the fact that I still worry about you. Still _care_ about you."

Maggie snorted with disbelief. "Oh, that's right. You cared _so much_ that you walked out on me and decided to start over with a new, _better_ woman. The ultimate romantic gesture," she said with sarcasm.

Paul sighed and looked down at his feet for a moment, his shoulders sagging a little. "I didn't come here to fight, Maggie," he said, his tone weary.

"You shouldn't have come here _at all_," she countered swiftly. "If you wanted to pay your respects, you could have just sent a pretty flower arrangement like everyone else. Or you could have at least _called_ to ask if you were even _welcome_ here before you came rolling into town."

Paul looked up at her sharply. "Would you have answered if I had?" he asked, his tone heavily implying that they _both _knew she wouldn't have.

"Of course not," Maggie answered with remorse. "We have no reason to talk to each other anymore. And you _certainly_ have no reason to be here when you made it _pretty damn_ _clear_ how little this family meant to you." She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Things are fucking _hard enough_ already, now I have to deal with you barging in uninvited?"

Paul was starting to look mad now. "I _know _how hard things are, because I know how much you loved Ernie. I know how important he was to you. That's why I came, to try to offer some support. Excuse me for trying to be _nice_."

Maggie shook her head. "I don't need you to be nice. I need you to _go away_. That's what you're good at, right? _Leaving_?" she couldn't help but add with venom.

Paul took a step backward, as if he'd been physically struck. "I never wanted to hurt you, Maggie," he said, his tone losing some of its edge. "I never wanted things to be this way."

"Well, you did. And things _are_ this way now, and there's nothing you, or _anyone_, can do to change that," she cut in. "So why don't you go on back home to your wife and kid," she suggested. "And don't bother worrying about me anymore. I don't need, or _want_, your concern."

A thick, awkward silence fell over them. Maggie stared down at Paul with her chin jutted into the air and her expression unyielding, while Paul looked back up at her with what she could have sworn was sadness in his eyes. He glanced at Elena and Jack again, who had watched the exchange in complete silence, then finally looked up at her and nodded.

"Alright," he said, his tone defeated. He leaned forward to place the bouquet he had brought on the floorboards next to her feet, then straightened back up. "I'm sorry I intruded. And I'm sorry about Ernie."

And with that, he turned to head back to his car. Maggie watched him go, her heart beating so loudly in her ears that she could hear little else. She didn't finally relax her stiff posture until Paul had started his engine and driven away.

Maggie sighed heavily and looked at Elena and Jack, who were both staring at her like she was a stick of dynamite that might blow at any minute. Paul's unexpected visit had shaken her to the core and made an already horrible day one thousand times worse. Maggie quickly came to the decision that she wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone anymore.

"Party's over," she said dryly, before turning on her heel to head back inside without another word.

It was easy enough to make everyone else leave. She announced as politely as she could that the lunch was over and that it was time to go home, and though some of the people in attendance seemed a bit scandalized that they were being dismissed, Maggie ignored their disapproving looks. She merely promised to return everyone's casserole dishes at the earliest convenience, then showed them to the door.

After everyone but Jack and Elena was gone, Maggie kicked off her shoes and put up her hair, then retreated into the kitchen to start cleaning up. She tried very hard not to think about Paul as she packed away leftovers and scrubbed dishes clean, but it was a feat that proved impossible.

She couldn't believe he had shown up the way that he had. The man really did have some nerve. First he had left her, then he had _replaced her_, and he had somehow gotten it in his head that he could just come waltzing back into her life and that she would be _okay_ with that? Honestly, what had he expected when he had come to see her? That she would greet him like they were old friends? That she would be _happy_? Of _course_ she wouldn't be happy to see him after everything that had happened. He had been a damned fool to think otherwise.

But then Maggie started thinking about how gutsy it had been for him to come and see her, and just how far he had gone out of his way to come pay his respects. He had driven hours to come to the house and really put himself out there, and what had she done? Thrown it back in his face and practically kicked him off the property. With a cringe, she had to acknowledge that it had been pretty cold hearted of her to behave the way she had. The more she thought about it, the more she almost felt…_guilty_.

Maggie frowned and shook her head firmly at that train of thought. _Fuck that_, she thought to herself, resolutely shoving away any feelings of guilt. He had broken her heart _and _broken his vows to her. She had every right to be pissed off at him for as long as she wanted, and that was _that._

"You're gonna break that dish if you scrub any harder," Elena suddenly commented, making Maggie jump with surprise and nearly drop said dish.

She glanced at her friend over her shoulder. Elena had entered the kitchen without her hearing it, and she was currently standing just inside the doorway. Maggie wasn't sure what to make of the expression on her face, so she turned her attention back to the dishes to avoid it altogether.

"Did you see anymore dishes anywhere?" Maggie asked, her tone neutral.

"No, I think we got them all," Elena said, stepping closer. She came to stand next to her by the sink, and for a moment, Elena just stared at her, as if studying her. Finally, she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You okay?"

Maggie frowned and scrubbed the dish harder. "Well, I just buried my grandfather, who I already miss so much it's hard to fucking _breathe_ when I think about it, _and_ my asshole ex-husband, who I can't stand the sight of, decided to show up out of the blue after three years of absolutely _zero_ contact. Why _wouldn't _I be okay?" she said with sarcasm.

Elena sighed. "I know you're pissed that Paul showed up," she said gently. "But you can't let it get to you like this."

"How did he even _know_?" Maggie asked sharply, giving her friend a look. "Did you or Jack say something to him?"

Elena almost looked offended at the question. "Of course not," she denied at once. "Me and Jack are on _your_ side, Mags, not his." Maggie knew Elena was telling the truth. "You and Paul _do _still know a lot of the same people, though, and news about Ernie's passing spread pretty quickly. If I had to guess, he probably just heard through the grapevine," she reasoned.

Elena was probably right. Maggie sighed heavily and shook her head. "I just wish he hadn't come. That was the _last _thing I needed."

"I know. But…believe it or not, I think he came with good intentions," Elena said in a careful tone, as if she was afraid to say the wrong thing and set Maggie off again. "He wasn't trying to pull anything. He was just trying to offer his condolences."

Maggie frowned deeper, that guilty feeling from a few minutes ago creeping back. "I know."

She finally stopped scrubbing the dish to brace her hands on the sink. She closed her eyes for a second and let out a long exhale, all the things she had said to Paul earlier rushing back and just twisting that knife of guilt even further. Maggie finally opened her eyes again and stared straight ahead at the window. The sun was starting to descend now, turning the sky pretty shades of orange and pink.

"I was a real bitch to him, wasn't I?" she asked quietly.

Elena shrugged. "I don't blame you for it. I probably would have been the same way," she said.

Maggie looked at Elena, letting all of the weariness she felt inside appear on her face. "I didn't mean to fly off the handle like that. I just…" Maggie shook her head. "I'm so _tired_, El," she admitted. "I'm tired of lawyers and bankers and _people_. I'm tired of keeping on a brave face when really I feel like I'm _drowning _inside. This has been probably the worst week of my life, and now, on top of that, I feel guilty for how I treated Paul. It just makes me feel even _worse_." Maggie sighed again. "I'm just done. All I want is to hole up somewhere and forget all of this even happened."

Elena frowned with sympathy and moved closer to put an arm around her shoulders. "I get it, Mags. Things are hard right now, but it'll get better over time. You'll see. And Paul probably understands why you lashed out, so don't beat yourself up over it too much. It's not like you have to see him again anyway."

Maggie frowned. "I still feel like an asshole."

Elena shrugged, then gave her a small smile. "You could always send him a fruit basket or something to apologize," she said, her tone slightly joking.

Maggie snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure his wife would just _love_ that," she muttered sarcastically.

Elena just pulled her closer and squeezed her. "Look, it's been a tough day. Give it a couple days to…reset yourself. Then, if you still feel bad, you can send Paul an email or something. You know, to clear your conscious."

Maggie thought about it, then nodded. "Okay."

Elena smiled encouragingly, then patted her on the back. "Why don't you go and relax?" she suggested, gently nudging Maggie away from the sink and the dishes that remained there. "I'll finish up here."

"You sure?" Maggie asked.

Elena nodded. "Positive."

Maggie didn't need to be told again. With a quick _thanks _and a small, grateful smile, she left Elena in the kitchen and went back to the living room, which seemed eerily quiet and empty now that everyone was gone. There was no sign of Jack anywhere, but when she heard the floorboards upstairs creaking, she determined he must have gone upstairs to change or wind down. Maggie glanced around the living room for a moment, her eyes lingering on the recliner Ernie had always loved sitting in, before she turned and made her way out onto the porch instead.

The fresh air was nice and the view was even better. Maggie went to brace her hands on the bannister, her eyes turning up to the sky as the sun continued to set. The breeze picked up, making the trees around the house sway harder, bringing the smell of nature to her nose. Maggie closed her eyes and inhaled, the familiar scent soothing her frazzled nerves.

An odd crinkling sound reached her ears, making her open her eyes again. She searched for the source of the noise until she finally looked down at the steps of the porch, and when she realized what was still there, she stiffened.

The flowers from Paul were still on the steps where she had left them, the decorative paper wrapped around them for protection rustling with the wind.

Maggie stepped over to the flowers and picked them up. She stared at them, resisting the urge to press her nose to them, and felt another pang of guilt as she remembered how Paul had looked when he had left. He really _had_ seemed genuinely hurt. Maggie reckoned she might have been too, if the roles had been reversed. Going completely out of your way to try to be there for the person you had once loved during a difficult time, when you had absolutely no obligation to, only to get the vocal equivalent of a swift kick to the ass and shown to the door? Yeah, she understood why he had looked the way he had when he had left.

Maggie stared at the flowers for a few moments longer, then sighed heavily.

Maybe she _would_ reach out to him after all, apologize for being so callous. Maybe. But right now, all she wanted to do was put him out of her mind. She didn't want to think about Paul anymore. Now that she was alone, now that the funeral was over, it was time to mourn for her grandfather in peace, as she had been yearning to do all week. It would be a lot easier not to think about Paul if she didn't have any reminders of him lying around, though, that was for sure.

With that thought in mind, Maggie stepped down from the porch and turned right to head to the garage, where a few trashcans were lined up close to the door. Maggie walked up to the nearest one, took off the lid, then threw the flowers into the trash.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you're gonna be alright here by yourself?" Elena asked for what had to be the hundredth time that morning.

It was three days after the funeral, and though Jack had long since said his goodbye's and returned home, Elena had opted to stay an extra few days to help Maggie around the house and keep her company. It had been a quiet and uneventful three days, consisting mostly of them watching movies, going for long walks around the property to get fresh air, and devouring ice cream every night. As much as Maggie loved having Elena around, and as grateful as she was for her loyalty and support, she could no longer deny the fact that she was keeping her friend from her own life, which had selflessly been put on hold to help her out.

It was long past time for Elena to go home and get back to work, and as they stood in the foyer with all of Elena's things packed into a duffel and ready to go, Maggie was determined to make her go back to her normal life.

"I'll be completely fine," Maggie reassured. "I'll be plenty busy tending to the animals and taking care of things around here. And if you're worried about me being alone, don't be. Wyatt has already promised to keep working here, just as he always has, so I'll have him for company."

Elena gnawed on her lip with uncertainty. "I just hate that I'm gonna be so far away. If something happens, I won't be able to do much to help."

Maggie furrowed her brows questioningly. "And what, exactly, do you think is gonna happen?"

Elena threw her hands up with exasperation. "I don't know! I'm just…worried about you, is all."

Maggie smiled reassuringly. "This is a small town with a lot of really good people, El. The worst thing that happens here is the local kids tipping over cows or getting too rowdy in the diner parking lot," she reminded. "And if you're worried about me eating, I've still got about a dozen casseroles to get through in that fridge. Trust me. I'll be absolutely fine here."

Elena looked at her for a long moment, then finally sighed with defeat. "Alright, alright. But if anything happens, or if you need me for _anything,_ just call. I'll get here as fast as I can."

"I will. I promise."

Satisfied with her answer, Elena nodded and then stepped forward to envelop her in a hug. Maggie squeezed her friend back tightly, trying to ignore the small lump that formed in her throat at the thought of saying goodbye, even though it was only temporary. Elena was an amazing friend, better than she could have ever dreamed or asked for. She was going to miss her while they were apart.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me," Maggie said, hugging her tighter. "I love you. You know that?"

"I know. And I love you, too," Elena said in return.

They hugged for a moment longer, then finally released one another. With a long sigh, Elena turned to grab her bags, and after Maggie opened the door for her, the two went outside. Once Elena had packed her things into the trunk of her car, she turned back to Maggie and smiled. "Try not to go too stir crazy, alright?"

Maggie nodded. "I'll do my best."

"And remember – if you need me, _call_. I'm serious. I'll be here as fast as I can get here," Elena said with a stern point of her finger.

Maggie smiled. "I will. I promise."

"Good."

They hugged once more, then Elena finally got into her car and started up the engine. "Say hi to Jack for me, okay?" Maggie said through the open car window.

"I will. Take care of yourself," Elena said.

"I will."

Finally, Elena put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Once she was on the street, she beeped the horn twice and waved, and then she was off, leaving Maggie to watch in silence as Elena drove down the road, before disappearing from sight altogether.

If she had thought it had been weird to be in the house without Ernie around before, once Elena was gone, it only got stranger. At least when Elena was around, there was someone else there to make noise or talk to or, if they didn't have anything to talk about, to just _be with_. But once Elena was gone, it was just Maggie all by herself in a big, empty house, and though she had insisted that she would be alright on her own, it still felt…strange.

The next week passed without much going on. It rained for two straight days after Elena left, which left Maggie with little else to do but sit around in the house and watch old shows on the very outdated television that Ernie had insisted on keeping. The weather cleared up eventually, but it was still overcast and muddy as hell all over the property for a few days after, which wasn't ideal for any outside adventures. On the bright side, however, Wyatt finally dropped in to pay her a visit and help her tend to some chores around the ranch, and having him around for company certainly lifted her spirits a little bit. They talked and worked like they always did, and then he did his very best to convince her to come over for dinner when it came time for him to leave. Maggie politely declined, but promised she would come over some other time.

By the end of the week, the skies were clear and beautiful, though once the sun came back it was hotter than the seventh layer of hell. Despite the heat, Maggie finally decided that the time had come to stretch her legs and get some fresh air, and she could think of no better way to do that than by taking one of the horses out for a ride around the property.

But first, there was a small bit of business to attend to.

She had given it some thought these past few days, and she had finally come to the conclusion that she owed Paul an apology. She still thought he had been crossing a line by showing up at her grandfather's funeral so unexpectedly, but she also knew that she had acted quite poorly by being so rude and sending him away so quickly. Did they have good history with one another? No. Did she think there was any chance for friendship between them? _Hell no. _But her grandparents had raised her with good manners, and if they had seen the way she had behaved, they would have been ashamed and appalled. For their sake, and in the hope that it would make that annoying feeling of guilt _finally _go away, she had decided to send him an email and be done with it.

The only problem was that Maggie had been sitting in front of her laptop for at least twenty minutes now, and still she had not written a word in the email message she was trying to compose. After their divorce, she had really, truly never thought she would talk to Paul again. She had been certain that was the end of all communication. What was she supposed to say to him after everything that had happened? How was she supposed to go about apologizing to someone that she both loved _and _hated at the same time?

Maggie sighed, then finally put her fingers to the keyboard.

_Paul – The last thing I expected the day of the funeral was for you to show up and offer your support, especially considering everything that happened between us. _

Maggie stopped, then shook her head and hit the backspace button until everything had been erased. Probably better not to mention their past, since they were both _well _aware of how and why things had gone so sour between them. She tapped her fingers against the desk as she took another moment to think, then tried again.

_Paul – I was certain I would never see you again after the divorce, which is probably why I reacted so badly when you showed up at the funeral. You, of all people, were the last person I thought would come to support me, since you stopped supporting me the minute you decided I was an unfit wife. _

Maggie stopped again and erased the words with a heave. That was _way_ too confrontational for an apology.

After three more attempts, and three more erases, Maggie sighed and rubbed her eyes with frustration. This was proving to be much harder than she had thought it would be. Dropping her arms down to the desk, Maggie turned her eyes to the window so she wouldn't have to look at the blank screen any longer, her brows furrowed with concentration. Why was she making this into such a big deal anyway? She didn't need to write a fucking essay explaining exactly why she had behaved the way she had. It isn't as though she was trying to salvage a relationship here, since their relationship was already well and truly severed. Why was she thinking about this so hard?

With determination, Maggie looked back to the screen and placed her fingers on the keyboard again.

_Paul – I'm sorry. Thank you for the condolences. Papa would have appreciated it. _

There. It was quick and to the point. And before she could think twice about it, Maggie clicked send and closed her laptop with a snap.

With thoughts of Paul shoved way to the back of her mind, Maggie decided to get ride underway. A blast of heat hit her the second she stepped outside, making her groan and nearly rethink her decision to go riding. But she definitely wanted to get out of the house, and she was hopeful that a ride would clear her head, so she pressed on anyway. She walked into the barn and smiled at Duke and Jolene, who were both munching away on some hay in their stalls. Maggie went up to Duke first, who stepped forward to the front of the stall to greet her.

"Hey, boy. How ya doing?" she asked, patting him on his massive neck. Duke's answer was to nudge her shoulder with his nose and snort lightly through his nostrils. Maggie smiled and rubbed his nose, then smoothed down his mane. "You missing Papa, too?" Duke snorted again. "Yeah, me too."

After a few more affectionate pats, she moved on to Jolene, who seemed to have finally warmed up to her during the course of her extended stay on the ranch. Jolene approached a little more slowly, but approached nonetheless, and she did not shy away as Maggie rubbed her nose, too. "How about you, girl? Hanging in there?"

Jolene whinnied with enthusiasm, which had Maggie smiling a bit. She glanced at Duke, who seemed to be watching her, then looked at Jolene again. Originally, it had been her plan to take Duke out for a ride, simply because she was so used to him. But something about taking him out suddenly felt…wrong, in a way. He had been Ernie's for so long, and though she was sure Duke would appreciate the exercise, it felt weird to ride him in her grandfather's place. As much as she adored Duke, she preferred to take Jolene out instead. Plus, she hadn't had the chance to see what Jolene could really do yet. Now seemed like the perfect time to finally do so.

Maggie opened Jolene's stall and led her out, then made quick work of saddling her up. Once Jolene was ready to go, Maggie shed the button down shirt she had been wearing and hung it on the saddle rack, leaving her in a tank top, jeans, and her working boots. She then turned to reach for her worn, tan colored cowboy hat, which she usually left hanging up in the barn…and then she froze. Because there was a damn flash of blue in the corner of her eye again, this time out in the field just beyond the barn.

Maggie looked in that direction quickly, but nothing was there. After a second of flicking her eyes back and forth, she cursed and plopped the hat on her head. "Fuck off, ghost," she grumbled. "I don't have time for you today."

With that being said, she hauled herself up on Jolene's back and got situated. "See you in a bit, Duke," she said, smiling at the horse over her shoulder.

Duke just chewed his hay and stared back unblinkingly.

Maggie adjusted her grip on the reigns and patted Jolene on the neck. "C'mon, girl. Let's go."

With a click of her tongue and her heels digging into Jolene's flanks, they were off.

They started slow at first so that they could get used to each other. They trotted around the house a couple times, learning how to move together. When Maggie was more comfortable – and when Jolene seemed ready – she directed the horse toward the field and urged her on faster. Jolene responded to the encouragement immediately, and Maggie was taken by surprise as the mare took off like a rocket.

She had been told that Jolene was fast, but she hadn't realized just _how_ fast. Maggie could handle the sudden burst of speed, but she had to hold onto her hat with one hand so that it wouldn't go flying off. It was as if Jolene had been chomping at the bit to stretch her legs, and now that she had been released into the world, she was ready to go. Maggie urged her on even faster, marveling at Jolene's speed as she galloped even harder and picked up the pace further, able to feel the power in the mare's body as the wind whistled in her ears.

It was _amazing_, and for the first time since her grandfather had died, Maggie let loose a genuine smile of joy.

They went to the very edge of the property, but because Jolene was showing no signs of slowing down, Maggie didn't try to stop her. They left the ranch well behind and continued on a trail that led into the forest, speeding through the trees. Maggie spotted a log lying in the path up ahead and momentarily worried that Jolene might not see it in her exuberant run, but the horse merely jumped clear over the log and landed with ease, never even breaking her stride as she kept on going. Maggie called out words of encouragement the entire way, laughing and smiling as they raced through the forest, feeling more carefree in that moment than she had in ages.

She couldn't really say how long they ran for – she was enjoying herself so much and so caught up in the ride that she wasn't paying much attention. But eventually Jolene slowed her pace, until she was down to just a trot, breathing heavily from the exertion of the run. Maggie smiled and patted the horse, finally releasing her hold on her hat since there wasn't a fear of losing it anymore.

"Good girl," she said soothingly. "Good girl."

Maggie finally glanced around as Jolene trotted along at a leisurely pace, then frowned a little as she realized that she didn't really recognize her surroundings. She liked to think she had a decent sense of direction, and she most definitely knew her grandfather's property down to every tree and blade of grass…but wherever they were now was unfamiliar, which meant they must have ridden _very _far.

"Where are we, Jolene?" she asked unsurely.

Jolene's answer was to snort and shake out her mane.

They continued down the path a little longer, until the trees thinned out a little and a stream came into view. Thinking that Jolene might need some refreshments after her run, Maggie pulled on the reigns to bring her to a halt, then jumped down and led her to the stream to get some water. While Jolene bent down to drink some water, Maggie stayed close and glanced around, trying to ascertain how far away they might be from the property.

_Can't be too far_, she reasoned. _We'll just go back the way we came_.

As Jolene drank her fill, Maggie kneeled down next to the stream and splashed some water on her face and neck to cool herself down a little. She readjusted her hat on her head and stood up, ready to mount Jolene again and head back to the ranch.

But that was when she saw a figure on the other side of the stream, which made every muscle in her body go tense.

The cowboy was there, sitting atop a horse this time, decked out in the same attire he had been wearing when she had seen him in the yard. She could see his face clearer now that he was closer. He looked a little older than her, with strong, masculine features, a few days' worth of stubble on his jaw, and blue eyes that peered back at her with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. His hat covered most of his hair, but she could see wisps of it peeking out from under the brim. It looked to be a sandy blonde color.

Maggie blinked, fully expecting he would disappear, but he didn't this time. He just sat there atop his horse, staring back at her as if trying to silently tell her something.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

He didn't answer.

Maggie felt a sudden surge of frustration. Why did she keep seeing this apparition? Why was this happening? What did it all mean?

"Why are you here?" she growled out, taking a step closer. "Why do you keep _following me_? What do you _want from me_?"

The cowboy still didn't say anything. He merely stared at her for another moment, then guided his horse around and started off in the opposite direction, leaving her behind. As much as she had wanted the ghost to go away, as confusing as this whole thing was, she suddenly didn't want him to go. There had to be a _reason _why he kept showing up, and she wanted _answers_. But she couldn't get them if he was gone, could she?

"Wait!" Maggie cried.

When he didn't stop, Maggie quickly scrambled back on top of Jolene and urged her forward, sending splashes of water up into the air as they galloped across the stream. As if he could sense she was following him, the cowboy sped up. Maggie dug her heels into Jolene's flanks to make her pick up the pace, but no matter how fast they went, the cowboy was faster.

Suddenly he wasn't on the path anymore. He was riding through the trees, leaving her to catch only glimpses of his blue shirt as he wove in and out of sight. Maggie directed Jolene off the path and into the trees, trying hard to keep sight of him, not understanding where he was going or what he was trying to accomplish.

"Where are you going?" she cried, even though she knew he wouldn't respond. Even though she _knew_ she must have looked like a lunatic chasing after a fucking _ghost_.

Another glimpse of blue on her right had her directing Jolene that way. Maggie had to keep ducking to avoid low hanging branches, could feel twigs scraping against her skin and hitting her body as they wound deeper and deeper into the woods. The logical part of her brain knew she should stop and turn back, knew she would probably just get lost if she kept on the way that she was, but she had silenced that logical voice. Her only focus was the cowboy and wherever it was that he was leading her.

Maggie was starting to see the cowboy less now. With desperation, she urged Jolene on, her head swiveling back and forth to try to catch a glimpse of him within the trees. _There_! A flash of blue up ahead. With a call to Jolene, they hurried that way, picking up the pace again as the trees thinned a little, giving them more room to run. There he was. She was catching up to him.

Suddenly, they were in a clearing, and the moment they hit the open space, Jolene whinnied loudly and reared back on her hind legs so suddenly that Maggie had to scramble to hold on. When Jolene was back on all fours, Maggie glanced around quickly, searching for the cowboy. But he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere.

"What the fuck?" she whispered to herself, breathing hard and feeling horribly confused.

She wasn't the only one out of sorts. Suddenly Jolene could not seem to stand still. She was pacing and tossing her head, letting out anxious sounds. Maggie looked down at the mare in confusion, unsure what had gotten into her or why she was behaving so strangely.

That was when she heard it. There was an odd buzzing sound in the air, like an angry swarm of bees circling around her. Maggie actually glanced upward, half expecting to see bees overhead, but nothing was there. Yet the buzzing continued, and as Maggie lowered her eyes again to search for the source of the noise, she realized the clearing they were in wasn't as empty as she had thought.

Some twenty yards in front of her was a circle of large standing stones, seven of them in total, each standing at least ten feet tall. Six made up the circle itself, while one was stuck right in the middle. Maggie stared at the stones, certain she had never seen anything like that in these parts before, and tried to get Jolene to move closer. The mare wouldn't budge, though.

Maggie climbed down from the saddle and tried to lead Jolene forward by the reigns so she could investigate the stones. The mare resisted at first, looking like she might bolt at any minute, but a few soothing words from Maggie finally had her stepping forward. As they slowly made their way closer to the stones, the buzzing sound intensified. The buzzing was coming from the stones, she realized, yet she couldn't for the life of her understand _why_.

The buzzing was almost overwhelming once they were actually standing within the circle. She felt like she could feel the buzzing all the way to her bones, making them rattle and shake underneath her skin. Jolene was starting to get anxious again, whinnying every so often, as if trying to warn Maggie that something was wrong. And the longer she stood there, the more anxious _Maggie _was starting to feel, too.

Something about this place felt different. Something about it felt_ off_. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, and a chill kept going up and down her spine. Something in her gut was suddenly telling her to leave and never come back, but she couldn't seem to make her feet move. The stones were captivating in a scary way, reeling her in like a fish on the end of a line. And were her eyes playing tricks on her, or could she actually see them _vibrating_?

Maggie looked to the stone in the middle, and the buzzing, if possible, got even louder. She didn't remember telling her feet to move, but suddenly she was stepping forward, her eyes training unblinking on the large stone. She felt drawn to it like a magnet, and it was impossible to resist the tug. Vaguely she felt Jolene pull against the reigns, but Maggie ignored the horse. As she stepped up to the stone, she peered up to the very top. It _was_ vibrating, she could see it clearly against the sky overhead.

She don't know why she did it. She don't know what compelled her to move. But Maggie suddenly _had_ to touch the stone, needed to feel it and understand what it was. Holding tightly to Jolene's reigns in one hand, she reached the other toward the stone. Time seemed to slow down in that moment. Slowly her hand descended on the stone, the buzzing sound so loud it was deafening, Jolene's anxious pulling on the reigns not even registering in her head. The cowboy was forgotten. The world was forgotten. The only thing she could focus on was the stone before her.

Finally, her hand landed on the smooth, cold stone. The buzzing stopped, and a strange feeling overtook her body, like falling through the air and being turned inside out at the same time. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She didn't know where she was, or _who _she was.

And then it stopped, and everything went black.

* * *

***Peeks around corner* *Looks around* *waves hesitantly***

**Er, hello. Remember me? Yes, I'm still here, though I'm sure many of you forgot all about me. I'm not really sure what happened, or how it's been so long since I first started this story. Personal life took over in a big way and writing has been very difficult to accomplish, which is the main culprit for me not working on this story. Also, I didn't get a chance to play the game at all for a solid six months, and since that's where inspiration comes from (obviously) that made things even more difficult. **

**But hey, here I am. With basically the entire world on quarantine, and with me currently unemployed because of that, I've suddenly found myself with excessive amounts of free time. Video game playing commenced, which then brought about motivation, which led to this chapter finally happening. Yay! **

**Thank you to everyone who has added this story to their alert/favorite list, and thank you for all your kind reviews. For those of you that stuck around, you're awesome. For those of you who left, I totally get it. I hope you come back, though. I'll try to be better about updating, I promise. **

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! We'll finally be seeing Arthur in the next one, so hang on to your hats! Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you soon!**


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